Sabres select Quinn with 8th pick in NHL Draft

The Buffalo Sabres have selected forward Jack Quinn with the 8th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Quinn, a native of Cobden, Ont., ranked second in the Ontario Hockey League with 52 goals in 62 games for the Ottawa 67s last season. He became just the fourth OHL player in the last 10 seasons to reach the 50-goal mark in his draft year, joining Arthur Kaliyev, Alex DeBrincat, and Sabres forward Jeff Skinner.
It was a statistical leap for the right-shot wing, who had scored 12 goals in 2018-19.

"I think there was a lot of factors that kind of went into it," Quinn told the media last month. "I think it started with a great summer in the gym and that led to me feeling in good shape and being a lot more confident in myself. I think my skating improved a bit and a little more ice time, a little more confidence, and the puck started going in."
NHL.com's Adam Kimelman described the 5-foot-11, 176-pound Quinn as one of the draft's "best pure goal scorers."
"His skating got better as the season went on, and he's confident it will continue to improve as he gets better off-ice training at the pro level," Kimelman wrote. "He is already strong enough to win battles along the wall and is tough to knock off the puck."

Quinn becomes the first draft selection for Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, who was appointed to the position in June. Adams tasked director of scouting Jeremiah Crowe and director of analytics Jason Nightingale with revisiting the draft process with a blend of data and video scouting.
"There was a challenge to them in June to say, 'Let's really make sure we're taking another look at this and we're going to reset some metrics on how we're going to evaluate players,'" Adams said Monday. "Those guys really bought in and have covered an incredible amount of ground."

The Sabres hold the following picks when Day 2 begins at 11 a.m. on Wednesday:
Round 2, Pick 7 (38th overall)
Round 4, Pick 7 (100th overall)
Round 5, Pick 7 (131st overall)
Round 7, Pick 7 (193rd overall)
Round 7, Pick 30 (216th overall) (from Dallas)