Carole St-Aubin
Campbell’s Bay Feb.17, 2022
The O’Brien boys have been a mainstay in Pontiac’s local hockey culture for years, it seems only natural that one of the four brothers would go on to pursue a professional career on the ice.
Twenty-seven year old Quinn has done exactly that, having most recently signed a contract with a Scottish team, the Dundee Stars.
“I probably started skating around the age of four. I started with figure skating for one year and then when I was old enough to play MAHG in Fort-Coulonge,” Quinn told THE EQUITY.
He also played two years at the Novice level in Fort-Coulonge and was affiliated with a Shawville team at the end of his . . .
second year. Quinn then moved on to play at the Atom BB level in Low, Quebec and later transferred to an Aylmer team in his second year.
In Aylmer, Quinn also played two years at the PeeWee level before moving on to the Bantam AA playing for the Gatineau Intrepids.
“I was always playing forward, either in the centre or right wing position,” Quinn noted, “It just kind of depends on what the team needs from me, now I’m playing centre.”
Growing up with three brothers, the boys often played sports to keep themselves entertained.
“It was road hockey in the summer and then we’d go to the nearby pond in the winter. Basically I was out there every day playing a two on two game with my brothers, so it was a constant thing. It was just something that we did as a family,” Quinn recalled.
“When we had all four boys in hockey, my wife Louise and I would take two boys each and go off in different directions,” said Quinn’s father Tom.
“It took a lot of hard work and dedication from everyone and it was costly as well, but it was worth it. It’s been an absolute pleasure to watch him play all these years,” Tom said with pride, adding, “This is Quinn’s dream, we’re all proud of him for pursuing it and all we can do is support him.”
Playing for The Intrepids for two years meant additional and further travel for Quinn and his parents, including weekend trips to Montreal.
Quinn went on to play in the Midget AAA at the age of 15 when he was drafted to play in the Quebec Midget Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He went to his first hockey camp and at the age of 17 he played for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
In the middle of his second season, Quinn was traded to the Charlottetown Islanders in PEI, where he remained to finish his junior career, until the age of 21.
“From there I committed to the University of Ottawa varsity hockey games with the uOttawa Gee Gees, and played there for four years. Then I took the year off last year just because my contract with the Glasgow Clan (a Scottish professional hockey team competing in the UK Elite Ice Hockey League) at the time fell through just because the league never started due to COVID,” Quinn remarked.
“And then they were good enough to offer me the same contract this year. And, you know, feeling like I was not quite feeling done with playing, I decided to come back and try it. Unfortunately, Glasgow didn’t quite work out but now I’m with the Dundee Stars and it’s going well so far,” he added.
When asked what kept him going, Quinn replied,“It’s always been a huge passion of mine and I’m lucky enough to have been able to actually get a university degree out of it and make a little bit of money at it.”
“It’s definitely nice to see that it has paid off in a sense, and that all the sacrifices that my parents and brothers —who have supported me my whole career— have made, has not been for nothing.”
Quinn’s two older brothers still play recreationally with The Flying Elbows and the local leagues in Shawville.
Though Quinn also had to leave his spouse Erica behind, she was able to visit with him for a little over a month. “Oh it was a nice 40 days when she came here. We were able to visit Scotland and Northern Ireland. I definitely would love to have her here all the time, but we have a house and a dog and have gotten started with our little life in Mansfield,” he said with a little hint of longing in his voice.
Life in Scotland is very comparable to life in Canada, according to Quinn, and when asked about the hockey culture he said that the people who like hockey, love it. But adds that soccer, cricket and rugby are most popular there.
When asked about some of the things that he noticed were really different, Quinn quickly replied, “The main thing is driving on the other side of the road. That’s an adjustment. You don’t see any Ford 150s or Dodge Hemis rolling around, it’s mostly compact cars and if you do see a truck it’ll be like a Ford Ranger kind of thing. The roads are a lot narrower. And because they don’t get snow here, I haven’t had to wear a winter coat yet this year. So yeah, there’s a lot of differences.”
He also remarked that their ice surface was bigger. It’s a different style of game in the sense where there’s a lot more room on the ice. You can hold on to the puck a little longer in certain scenarios, and look to make plays. Or if you’re checking or playing offensive zone style, you’ve got to contain a little bit more, you can’t just go all out with the guy.”
Quinn has to travel all over the United Kingdom for games and generally has something going on every day, a game or practice, and typically has one day off a week. “Right now we’re battling for a playoff spot, not just a spot, but a good one. It’s good to set your sights as far as you can,” he added with determination.
He is hoping that his wife can come for another visit in the next month or so and would also be happy to have his parents and brothers come see him play overseas.
“We’d love to get out there to see him play, we were going to go but then he went to Dundee and then Omicron surfaced, so because of the pandemic we’re going to wait a bit to see what happens, but we’d still love to make it out there,” said Tom.
“It would be nice to get them all over here to see me play and also have them see a little bit of Scotland,” Quinn echoed the sentiment.
