How a 'different path' led a Nova Scotian to become an NCAA hero

Hockey player Jacob Quillan admits he overthinks things.

The 21-year-old grew up in Dartmouth, N.S., but is now a second-year forward for the NCAA Division I Quinnipiac University Bobcats of Hamden, Conn.

"I'm always running plays through my mind, what to do, visualizing," he said.

The day before last weekend's national championship game in Tampa, Fla., a thought popped into Quillan's mind: how would he celebrate if he scored in overtime in the final?

With the game tied 2-2 at the end of regulation against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Bobcats decided to run a play called "The Jet" to start overtime.

The play never worked when the team practised it, but this time it did. It took Quillan 10 seconds to end the game.

It sparked an epic celebration that paid homage to NHL legend Teemu Selanne, with Quillan throwing his gloves and pretending to shoot them with his stick. In the chaos, his stick and one of his gloves ended up in the stands.

"It was crazy," said Quillan.

The game capped an amazing season for Quillan. He was named the most outstanding player in the national championship tournament, as well as the national player of the month for April.

Quillan's success is all part of a plan he hatched in his early teens. He committed to play for Quinnipiac when he was 14.

Just like his role model and older brother, Nick Quillan, Jacob Quillan wanted to play hockey at U.S. prep schools and then play Division I hockey. Nick played for Colgate.

"I just saw how much better he got and I wanted to follow in his footsteps ... I wanted to do the same thing," said Jacob Quillan.

He studies finance at Quinnipiac, which has a student body of around 9,000.

Quillan scored nine points in his rookie season, but exploded for 38 in his second. He credits the improved play to offseason work he did on his skating and strength, as well as his teammates.

Quillan is eligible to graduate after his third year, but is thinking of getting an MBA afterwards. He hopes to one day work on Wall Street or in investment banking.

But for now, his on-ice success means he's attracting attention from some NHL teams. Playing there has always been Quillan's dream.

His fortunes don't come as a surprise to Steve Crowell, one of his former coaches. 

"When I heard he scored the overtime goal the other day, I said he had a propensity to do that," said Crowell.

Quillan played two seasons for Steele Subaru of the Nova Scotia U18 Hockey League, beginning when he was 14 and was granted the rare exceptional player status to play at a younger age.

Crowell said Quillan had exceptional hockey intelligence at that young age, always knowing where his teammates were on the ice.

The knocks on him were that his skating needed to improve and he was small. When Quillan was 14, he was 5-6 and 140 pounds.

In Quillan's first season with the Subarus, he got less ice time during the playoffs because the physical play ramped up, said Crowell.

In the league final, Crowell sat Quillan halfway into the third period and through the first overtime period.

Faced with a neutral zone faceoff in the second overtime period, Crowell looked to Quillan.

"I looked down the bench and, you know, he wasn't sooking on the bench or anything," said Crowell. "He was into the game, cheering the other guys on and I just had a hunch and we put him out there."

The team ran a designed play and Quillan ended up on a two-on-one, where he looked over at his teammate.

"Everybody in the rink thought he was passing," said Crowell.

Instead, Quillan fired a no-look shot to get the Subarus the win.

Crowell said Quillan has all of the attributes needed to be a successful professional hockey player: hockey intelligence, speed and a good attitude.

Brady Burns is friends with Quillan. The 20-year-old just wrapped up playing five seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Saint John Sea Dogs.

The two grew up playing hockey against each other, but also played on some provincial teams together.

Burns said Quillan told him before the season that he was going to win the national championship this year.

Burns said it's great to see someone from here having success at the U.S. collegiate level. He was thrilled when Quillan scored the championship goal.

"It's not surprising because he's a really good player, but at the same time, it's kind of a cool sight to see because you never expect someone you know to score a big goal like that," said Burns.

The plan Quillan hatched in his early teens is playing out like he envisioned.

"College hockey isn't as popular as it is in Halifax," he said. "Every kid dreams of going to the Q like [Sidney] Crosby and [Nathan] MacKinnon did. For me, I was a late bloomer. It was just a different path. I got a little more time to develop and it worked out."