QUINN HAS BIG FAN IN LEETCH
Leetch applauds hire of coach he has known since prep-school days
Brian Leetch remembered being a sophomore in high school and being intimidated by David Quinn.
Leetch, the former Rangers star defenseman, and Quinn, the man who last week was named the 35th head coach in franchise history, have a long and storied past. It started back in 1982 when Leetch’s local rink in Connecticut closed and he was forced to go out looking for a prep school where he could continue to play. When he visited the Kent School, Quinn happened to be his campus tour guide.
“Physically, he basically looked the same as he does now. He was a big, physical presence,” Leetch told The Post by phone Thursday. “He was very comfortable in his own skin and very confident, yet with an easy-going nature. When you’re in high school — and I think Quinny was a senior at that point — it was a little intimidating but reassuring that everything he was saying, he was telling the truth.”
Leetch ended up choosing Avon Old Farms instead, wanting to be closer to his family home in Chesire, Conn. But he and Quinn came up through the ranks together, both defensemen on the 1986 World Juniors team that won bronze, the first U.S. junior team to ever medal. Quinn was already a leader back then, taking control of the bench with a stern and honest mentality.
“I never thought of him as a coach, but certainly [it was similar to] the way I looked at him, his presence — him being able to speak freely and openly to anybody on the team,” Leetch said. “He was very comfortable in his own skin, very humble and confident, which really is a great thing to have as a teammate.”
Quinn was drafted by the North Stars with the No. 13 pick in 1984, but when he sprained his ankle playing pick-up basketball after his junior year at Boston University, he had to spend five weeks in the hospital as they found he had compartment syndrome and almost bled to death.
When a new medication came out, he attempted a comeback, including trying out for the 1988 Olympic team with Leetch. But Quinn didn’t make it, and after just two seasons of pro hockey, he called it quits.
“That was a disappointing thing for all of us. And he never changed,” Leetch said. “He never lost that same personality. Stayed positive. He was just like, ‘Yeah, what can you do?’ ”
So instead of playing, Quinn turned to coaching. He made his way through the college ranks, he helped out with USA Hockey, he made his pro debut as a head coach for AHL Lake Erie then spent one year as a NHL assistant in Colorado. He then returned to BU in 2013 to take over what he called “a dream job,” one that could only be supplanted by another one when the Rangers came calling five years later following the firing of Alain Vigneault.
Leetch is currently an ambiguous adviser to the Rangers, but he said no one in the organization ever asked him what he thought about hiring Quinn — and that’s likely because it was pretty clear what he would say about his old friend. And it turns out he wasn’t alone in thinking it.
“I think he’s a great fit,” Leetch said. “I think he’s going to do an excellent job. I think the team is in the right place and he’s in the right position of his career, coaching-wise. I think it’s a good match, I really do.”
The Rangers remain committed to their rebuilding process, and they also are expecting to be competitive next season. It is set to be a younger roster than in years past, and that seems to favor Quinn, who has spent most of his coaching career with young players. But how the players are going to deal with a more hands-on coach, and one who is clearly going to be harder in holding them personally accountable, is going to have a lot do with how they do this season — and how this hire will be evaluated.
“I think coaching is hard at any level,” Leetch said. “There will be a group of players that don’t like his approach, and there will be a group of players that think he’s the best, and then a group that are kind of in between, and going back and forth. That seems to be in every locker room all the time.
“But I think he’ll do a great job with this group.”