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Amerks’ Quinn voted winner of Red Garrett Award

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Rochester Americans forward Jack Quinn has been voted the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2021-22 season.

The award was voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 31 cities.

After his 2020-21 season was cut short by injury, Quinn emerged as one of the top young prospects in the AHL in 2021-22. In 44 games with Rochester, Quinn has registered 25 goals and 34 assists, ranking first among rookies and third in the league overall averaging 1.34 points per game while not going more than two consecutive games without a point all season. He earned AHL Rookie of the Month honors in October, and has compiled 18 multiple-point games, including a four-goal performance on Jan. 15 vs. Belleville.

Selected eighth overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Quinn has scored 10 power-play goals, a shorthanded marker and six game-winners on the season for the Amerks. The 20-year-old native of Ottawa, Ont., made his NHL debut in January and recorded a goal and an assist in two games with Buffalo.

This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1947, honors the late Dudley (Red) Garrett, a promising young player who lost his life during World War II while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy. Garrett split his only pro season, 1942-43, between the AHL’s Providence Reds and the NHL’s New York Rangers. Quinn is the seventh member of the Amerks ever to win the Red Garrett Award, joining Bill Hicke (1959), Mike Walton (1966), Ron Ward (1969), Claude Verret (1984), Donald Audette (1990) and Mika Noronen (2000).

Other previous winners include Terry Sawchuk (1949), Jim Anderson (1955), Bill Sweeney (1958), Roger Crozier (1964), Gerry Desjardins (1968), Rick Middleton (1974), Darryl Sutter (1980), Pelle Lindbergh (1981), Steve Thomas (1985), Ron Hextall (1986), Brett Hull (1987), Felix Potvin (1992), Corey Hirsch (1993), Darcy Tucker (1996), Daniel Briere (1998), Darren Haydar (2003), Nathan Gerbe (2009), Tyler Ennis (2010), Tyler Toffoli (2013), Matt Murray (2015), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mason Appleton (2018), Alex Barre-Boulet (2019), Josh Norris (2020) and Riley Damiani (2021).

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The winner of the 2021-22 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey) will be announced Tuesday.

Photo: Micheline V