Jacob Quillan has seen a couple of Maple Leafs awarded first-point pucks since he came on the radar last season.
But on Saturday, William Nylander skated over to the timekeeper’s bench in St. Louis to retrieve the disc from Quillan’s initial NHL assist in his 17th appearance. Quillan had the secondary helper behind Dakota Joshua on Jake McCabe’s goal, Toronto’s only goal in the 5-1 loss to the Blues.
Quillan’s hustle in limited fourth-line ice time had created out-right scoring opportunities for himself since his recall from the Marlies, but he’s grateful to finally be on the board. The undrafted Quinnipiac University star’s one game last season resulted in an injury and another farm stint.
“Feels good to get that, it has been a while,” said Quillan, who had 61 points in 105 regular-season AHL games the past two years before his summoning. “I’ve been feeling good every game about my play, looking to build.
“When I use my speed, I feel confident out there, when I handle the puck. I still have a lot of things to work on, like the defensive side of the game.”
Quillan, has not yet quite gained the full confidence of Craig Berube. The coach has been slow to promote him despite the lack of productive centres on a late-season roster sapped by trades and injuries. But the Nova Scotian has made strides in such areas as faceoffs, where he came off a bad night against the Rangers earlier in the week by winning seven of eight against the Blues.
Berube has used him on the penalty kill as well. At even strength Quillan was with Michael Pezzetta and Calle Jarnkrok on Saturday, not exactly complementing his offensive talents.