The start to Quinn's pro career was expedited when the OHL cancelled its 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, allowing Quinn to jump into the AHL as a 19-year-old. He tallied nine points (2+7) in 15 games during the shortened AHL season, reduced even further when he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a hernia in April.
When Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Don Granato informed Quinn he would begin this season in Rochester after a promising training camp, the forward said he had unfinished business.
"He looked at both of us and he said, 'I'm OK with going down in one sense: I played below the standard I believe I can play in the American League and I feel like I need to go back there and prove to myself that I can play better in that league,'" Granato said in November.
"… His immediate response was, 'I still have some unfinished business down there.' That's [how] he went down there looking at that. That's exactly why we drafted him and picked him and why we enjoy having him in our organization. He's like a homing torpedo."
Quinn returned to the AHL and displayed the goal-scoring prowess that made him a top-10 draft selection in juniors, when he scored 52 goals in 62 games for the Ottawa 67's.
"I wasn't really satisfied with how I played in this league last year," Quinn said following a two-point outing against Belleville on Nov. 3. "… In the back of my mind I'd say I still wanted to prove I can put up big numbers in this league and be a dominant player."
