“Great News” | Buffalo Sabres Coach Don Granato Gives Update On Jack Quinn, Praises Jordan Greenway

“Great News” | Buffalo Sabres Coach Don Granato Gives Update On Jack Quinn, Praises Jordan Greenway

BR seems like he’s walking pretty well and everything uh’s what’s his progress he he lots of progress he skated today for the first time uh that’s the great news the um still no news on a timetable from this point it’s his first time um skating and he’s had a long long

Stretch of inactivity within the within the uh joint and area of injury to do his work with you guys no he’ll stay back here to do to do work we’ve talked a lot about what Clifton how he’s gotten back to his game playing the way that he expects to um but off

The ice what does he bring to the group I mean he learned a lot in Boston he brings a lot of experience he’s won before what are what have those intangibles sort of done for the for the rest of the team you think well he has a

Presence uh and he has a he has a personality I think you you saw that and many people saw that even his father has a personality um but uh knowing him as a as a young kid as a teenager um you know there’s lots of things he brought to that team that I

Was with it was a very accomplished team lots of guys in the NHL off of it um that he’s starting to bring here as he gets more comfortable here with this group but um yes he has uh lots of uh experience in the league and hindsight and uh some different successes within

The league also different failures within the league you know you know um he’s been on some situations that were disappointing as well and um all of those are experience and you know as he’s gotten more and more comfortable here you see him contributing more and more when Jordan plays like he did

Yesterday and like he has for the last couple weeks what does that do for your team he’s a leader there’s you you if there was a camera on the bench you could watch it he’s he’s very vocal uh he’s up and down the bench even on a TV

Timeout talking to the defenseman as a group talking to the forwards as a group and sharing his Insight um very very intelligent player um when it comes to situations in power play penalty kill um time of period score and clock uh very aware and has a has a maturity Le you

Know he’s in that age bracket of 27 to 30 where you’ve had so many games and you know you you have life maturity with hockey maturity and um and again in the prime of your career as an athlete so uh a lot to offer and he does offer it that

One of the things you were thinking when you put him with kind of a young player in pton KBS and a very young player with Fenson yeah his cousins with him uh now um not Krabs I think you just said Krabs yeah so uh definitely um but you know

That on any line he plays with um you know he’s he’s going to bring what what he brings with any line and he has attributes that you know that others don’t so you know whoever you put them with they’re going to benefit to having those attributes um and in this case uh

You know um cousins and Benson and and Benson has has come alive even more uh certainly from the offensive uh standpoint the last couple games and I think that’s a big part of those two of cousins and uh and Greenway allow PK to become such a a valuable weapon not just

A deterrent against other teams power plays Jordan Greenway he’s a literally a huge part of that figuratively a huge part of that um I mean he’s he’s as good a penalty killer is there is is in the league and he’s he’s everything I just said he’s a leader he’s talking to guys

Whether it’s Alex tuck he’s he’s helped every guy become a better penalty killer we We Run The Penalty kill meetings and he shares his experience and insight of situation you have a guy on his backhand here with no support type of reads um there’s only a scam play here and and he

He’s he’s had reps and Reps and Reps and and you know um success recently but he also had failure early in his career so he’s learned these things and and again he’s he’s in a window of prime of his career and um yeah he’s he if I think of

The penalty kill I think of that as a as an impact to the Penalty kill someone with a presence and confidence um and I think our guys just needed the the nudge to know they were close and then somebody giving them the confidence to reassure them that we are close I can

Physically show you how to do this you know as a coach you can’t hop on the ice and show anybody um but when you have players that uh can assume that that leadership type role it’s uh impactful and Jordan’s been very impactful a little cliche so pardon me on that but

Is he an even more important player at this time when you guys are going through what you’re going through um what are we going through I guess I’m just like what you’re toes youbody always of yeah I mean you need you need people to step up and he’s he’s certainly stepping

Up and you also need to stay in the moment and he helps stay in the moment he knows that you know the only thing to to turn your attention to is to the next game which is tomorrow for us um and the next opponent um and so you know he you

Guys talk to him he’s very he has a calm to him he has a presence to him uh and and and I think of our situation as you say it it’s it’s no different than at any point in the year the only thing you have control over right now is

Preparation for the next game and then the next game and um there’s lots of things that pull you away from that focus and that is not good when you’re pulled away from being in the moment and um as I said his personality fits that he’s he’s he’s usually naturally in the

Moment Victor on the power play Beyond just scoring what what can just just being on the ice feeling the puck do for five on five game when you you’re getting those minutes on the power play again I think it does a lot for any player um you know especially players

That uh are have a scoring touch like Victor does and has had success that he’s had on a power play um so I think it’s a it’s it’s a big boost um to him and you know he’s he’s earned that uh privilege and I think that’s another

Part that’s confidence for him he knows he’s earned it handing no you’re fine Part B for um how has UK’s improve Puck handling really helped your your defenseman in certain situations yeah it’s a combination of Puck handling and and situational awareness uh it’s doing the right thing with the puck so not only

Not only you have to handle it but you got to get it to the right area at the right time you got to wait and wait for things to open up sometimes and commit a four cheer to one defenseman before you pass it um and so he has more presence

In his there’s more presence in his game presence with the puck in that case uh and that’s the difference but he’s worked on it he’s he’s actually in the shooting room uh off ice shooting pucks so you know that’s that’s a signal a sign of obviously an obvious commitment to

Become better at that obviously you don’t make saves when you’re in the shooting room shooting pucks with your stick uh but he does that and uh that’s why you seen Dylan cousins grow as a leader uh over the last year or so uh he’s he I think he’s

Learned he’s evolved I shouldn’t say learned he’s evolved into knowing how to take action to be a leader the action rather than you know he’s had the appetite and the hunger and now you you see him if it’s the penalty kill taking charge forcing plays uh last night um he

Read a situation where the the the line the offensive power play lineup for the Islanders gave him an opportunity to take a shot off the drop of the puck to clear the zone and he’s reading those situations so you know as he’s getting more comfortable with even situations

And situational awareness in the league he’s able to become more of a leader because he’s less taxed by learning if that so just natural maturity he’s always had leadership ability now he has to worry less about some of the other stuff and he can he can share his uh his

Learning with other guys and and uh apply things better and faster because he’s more experienced or gaining gaining experience I should say in a situation like tomorrow where you know Detroit’s lost seven in a row you played them on Tuesday how important is it for you to

Sort of mimic what you did on Tuesday and sort of jump on them early and try to put them behind the eightball yeah I mean that would be great um but if that’s not the case it’s a 60-minute game um you know I don’t think you’re going to control momentum uh for 60

Minutes in any game uh but it’s minimizing you know your your your downtimes it’s uh limiting when you’re when you’re you know in a rut or you have to kill a penalty or momentum swings against you and I think you know that’s that’s the key you’ve got to you

You got to continue to do that and manage it the right way in different swings of the game so the hope is you come out and you have a great start um but if you don’t you don’t it’s still 60 minutes and stay on it and um so you

Know it’s uh all the the the game the other day was great we needed the win we got the win but um the Slate is pretty clean um you know it’s always z00 when you start the game and there’s different energy levels and environments and atmospheres so we’ve just got to make

Sure we prepare our best for that the cous in particular um you’ve now played them against primarily against the Patrick ke and ret line and then uh last night against b horvat’s line um how does it feel knowing that they can not only neutralize Top Talent on the other

Team but they’re actually applying the pressure and making them play in their own defensive Zone that’s significant that’s uh that’s a double plus right there to limit the opposition uh and then be able to to uh maybe hem them in the zone or create offense against them

Um and again I I think Zack Benson has been Incredible without the puck his his positioning his awareness um even the empty net goal last last night you know he he left the zone at the right time went to the right spot to just to put the game away with four minutes left

Just intuitive um and you combine that with the experience of Greenway and the communication that goes back and forth and you know the commitment of cousins he’s a fierce compe compor and he he hates to lose even in the defensive zone so it’s a great combination for those

Reasons and many more um but you know if you’re asking me as a coach how much you like it you absolutely love it that you can play a line like that against a top you know Top Line and um you know the hope is they continue to to to do what

They’ve been doing which has been very very nice

Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato spoke with the media before the team hit the road for a five-game road trip on March 15, 2024. He gave an injury update for Jack Quinn, talked about Jordan Greenway’s leadership, and more.

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