Checking In With Kevin Quick
10/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Defenseman Kevin Quick is our ninth freshman for "Checking In With." Kevin found his way from Buffalo, N.Y., to Ann Arbor via the East Coast prep school circuit, attending the Salisbury School in Connecticut.
Quick
While moving back and forth across the country could trouble many other freshmen, Kevin already feels very comfortable with his new life at the University of Michigan. He credits his prep school days for preparing him for the rigors of living in dormitories, studying extensively and otherwise living and breathing hockey.
An interesting fact about the soft-spoken Quick is that he was drafted by an NHL team before he committed to college. Because he repeated his sophomore year in school when he transferred to Salisbury, he was NHL Draft eligible in 2006 and was picked in the third round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. After taking his time to evaluate his best school and hockey opportunities he happily settled on the University of Michigan in the fall of 2006.
On his roommate ... "Carl Hagelin and I weren't planning on rooming together. Coach (Billy) Powers just told me one day when I was at school last year that Carl was going to be my roommate. I got to meet him a few weeks before I got here. When I met him, he had ridiculously long hair."
On adjusting from prep school to college ... "Prep school helped. I lived in a dorm the past three years and we had a mandatory study hall at night, so I know how to get my work done."
On when he started playing hockey ... "I used to bowl; bowling and baseball were the first sports I played. Hockey came a little later. I started getting into it seriously when I was eight or nine and then it took over. I stopped bowling at that time, and then I kept doing the two-sport thing with hockey and baseball. Hockey took over when I was nine or 10 and I got on a serious summer team. I had to quit baseball when I was 12 or 13. I don't regret it at all though."
On when he realized he had talent ... "I think I was always talented. I was small. I didn't have a growth spurt until I was 14. When I started filling out my body was when it all came together for me."
On why he chose to play college hockey ... "It was the whole education thing. I got hurt a few times when I was younger, and it kind of scared me. When I was trying out for juniors, I broke my wrist. That wasn't too bad, but it scared me a little bit. When I was at prep school my first year I had two knee injuries and those kept me out a little bit. It was scary thinking of life without hockey. I had to get out of Buffalo because they do this split-season thing where they play high schools too, and the high schools were not too good. I had to find some better competition, and I did. I played my first two years of high school, and then I went off to prep school after that."
On the Salisbury School ... "At hockey camp, I met a coach at a different school and he wanted me to come take a look, so I did. Academically, I couldn't get into some of these schools with my scores, but I got into a few other ones. It's just like picking a college -- you go and look and see which one fits. When I went to Salisbury I just kind of knew that I would want to go there. Salisbury is the same distance as Michigan from my hometown, just in the other way. It's about four and a half or five hours in the middle of nowhere in Salisbury, Connecticut. My first few weeks there I was kind of homesick. I had a Korean roommate who was homesick too, so it was interesting. It was a big adjustment. I had to grow up and learn to be on my own. But it worked then and it's working now."
On similarities between Salisbury and Michigan ... "There is living in the dorms and eating in the cafeterias -- which is not always the greatest thing -- mandatory study periods every week, difficult classes, and hockey. The whole thing is very similar. Actually, going to Salisbury has helped me a lot because this has been an easy adjustment for me. I know some of the other guys won't say it, but they're homesick sometimes. But I'm used to it, and it's not a big change for me this year."
On his brother playing at Salisbury ... "Last year was his first year. He came to Salisbury a year earlier than I did because he wanted to play with me. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. He came in as a sophomore, but he didn't repeat 10th grade like I did. He just came straight in. Repeating is a common thing to do because Salisbury wants you to come in a year before your SAT exam. That way, you don't have to adjust to school and take your SATs all at the same time. They just want you to fit in right away and then the following year worry about SATs. If you repeat a year before your SATs, they give you an extra year."
On coming to Michigan and being recruited ... "Aside from Michigan, Clarkson was the first one to really contact me. They sent me an e-mail and talked to my coach and my dad my sophomore year at Salisbury. They wanted me to get back on track and go there last year. I had repeated for a reason so I stuck with it. My team always had about 10 guys go to college, and they all went to Hockey East schools. Coming out here was different; I think I was the first one from that school to go out West. Michigan attracts a lot of people, and when they contacted me that really got me excited. Coach Powers got in contact with me September of last year. So that came forward and we got going. He came and watched me play and I came out here and loved it. I wasn't in a rush to commit to college at all. I was looking at the Ivy schools first because when I committed to college I committed for a reason: to get an education. I was putting academics ahead of hockey for a while. I was drafted before I committed to a college. I went down to Tama Bay's camp and I played really well, and they started talking and they didn't push me but they just said a few words that really hit me and struck me. Words like I might need a tougher schedule than the ECAC if I wanted to pursue pro, which is true, you do need a tough schedule in college. Michigan is a good academics school. I'm trying to get into the business school so we'll see how that goes. But academically and athletically it's the best."
On benefits for not leaving Salisbury ... "Tampa wanted me to leave and go play in the USHL. I felt I had a commitment at Salisbury and I promised my coach that I wouldn't leave and that nothing would change. I didn't want to break that so I just held up my promise. I don't think it hurt me. It didn't help me as much as the USHL could have helped me but it didn't hurt me. I don't regret it at all. It was a good building year to develop my leadership as a captain. I had to settle down a bit. It was a growth year and it didn't hurt."
On how he felt at the USA Hockey camp ... "It was fine. I know a bunch of the guys who were there. Patch (Max Pacioretty) came, he's a good buddy of mine from home. I skated with him a lot during the summer. Buffalo has three Michigan State guys and we always skate together. The level of play was fine, the speed was fine. It was a lot of fun and I hope that works out. I got to meet the other Michigan guys; there were six there."
On Billy Sauer ... "Billy lives about 25 minutes away from me. I've known him for quite a few years now. Actually, Steve Kampfer, Max Pacioretty, Billy and I all played on the USA team in 2005 together in Slovakia. I met them and Max played in my league last year so I've known him for quite a few years now. But Billy, I've played with him, against him, he's always been around."
On his strengths ... "I think I'm a solid two-way defenseman with speed, so I can be a threat in the offensive zone. I usually put up points, but last year I had to settle that down a bit because our team defensively wasn't too sound so I couldn't take that many risks. Watching Michigan play last year I know that it's a style that I like to play. I can be offensive, but I'm definitely sound defensively."
On what he knew about Michigan's program beforehand ... "Before they even came to me I watched college hockey at home on breaks. I watched Billy Sauer a lot his freshman year because he's a friend and I wanted to know how he was doing. Other than that I had only seen two or three games until I came out here. I watched this team and they were really amazing. They definitely caught my eye."
On being excited to play college hockey here ... "It's loud here, especially when you're in the stands. I don't know how it's going to be on the ice. It's definitely going to be one of those days where my stomach is going to be flipping a lot. I can't wait. It's going to be fun. I'm going to have to settle myself down and just play the game. It's going to be interesting."
On his pregame routine ... "I don't really have a routine I go through. Some games I'll listen to music. It depends on the type of mood I'm in. If I need to settle myself down I won't listen to anything. If I need to get pumped up I'll listen to music, usually techno. That was a big thing in prep school."
On a player he models his game after ... "It's always between Sergei Gonchar or Scott Niedermayer. Those are two offensive defensemen who have a big impact on the game. I like trying to play like those guys. They're fun to watch."
On being No. 27 ... "It was my first number when I played hockey when I played house and then I went to seven for the rest of my life. But Chad Langlais came in before me here and because of seniority rights technically he got it first but I don't mind. Twenty-seven was my first number so I'll go back to it."
Checking In With ... Schedule
Sept. 20 -- forward Louie Caporusso
Sept. 21 -- forward Carl Hagelin
Sept. 24 -- goalie Bryan Hogan
Sept. 25 -- goalie Shawn Hunwick
Sept. 26 -- defenseman Chad Langlais
Sept. 27 -- defenseman Tristin Llewellyn
Sept. 28 -- forward Max Pacioretty
Oct. 2 -- forward Aaron Palushaj
Oct. 3 -- defenseman Kevin Quick
Oct. 4 -- forward Matt Rust
Oct. 5 -- defenseman Scooter Vaughan
Oct. 6 -- forward Ben Winnett
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
