John Quenneville, undisturbed by famous surname, hopes to find his own place on Blackhawks

CALGARY, Alberta — When Gene Honda announced John Quenneville’s name in the starting lineup before the home game Friday, there were some scattered “Q” bellows from fans.

It has been more than a year since the United Center crowd has been able to say that, and legendary former coach Joel Quenneville’s actual return won’t happen until late January when the Panthers visit. But for some, John Quenneville — Joel’s father’s brother’s grandson — is evidently close enough.

But John Quenneville himself — a goofy, confident character missing more than a few teeth and unperturbed by it — hopes his distinctive name won’t define his career.

“I don’t really see it as anything at all,” he said recently. “I feel normal. I don’t feel any different.”

For the former Devils first-round pick, Chicago offers an opportunity to revive a once-promising career that never really took off in New Jersey.

At 23, Quenneville still sees himself as a prospect, even in his fourth professional season. He looks at his excellent production in the AHL — 132 points in 157 games, including 13 (including eight goals) in 19 for Rockford this season — and feels that he has fully proven himself at that level, that the NHL is the logical next step.

And the Hawks’ management, which acquired Quenneville for more established forward John Hayden in an overlooked 2019 draft-day trade, sees the same thing.

“We obviously liked him, got good reports from his play in the American League,” coach Jeremy Colliton said Sunday. “He’s got some personality, got some jam to his game. Unfortunately for him, he was hurt in [NHL training] camp, so he wasn’t able to show his best side. But he worked really hard in Rockford and made an excellent impression, and he’s earned the chance.”

That AHL-to-NHL transition hasn’t clicked yet, though.

Quenneville was originally drafted in 2014 by Lou Lamoriello, and the Devils general manager ambitiously compared him to Adam Henrique at the time. But Lamoriello had left for the Maple Leafs before Quenneville even turned pro.

The Edmonton native played 33 games for the Devils over the course of three years, but after tallying his first goal and adding three assists in his rookie season, he recorded just one point in 21 games over the next two.

“[There were] a couple bounces I feel like I didn’t get,” he said. “If I just could’ve scored a couple goals in a couple key times, they could’ve kept me there for a lot longer and maybe I never would’ve went back to the minors at all.”

He did go back to the minors, though — a lot. Entering this past offseason, he figured a trade was possible.

“It was a double-edged sword, because when you’re playing with a team for a while, you know the guys and stuff,” he said. “But at the same time, you get a fresh start and you get a new team, new opportunity, so that’s great as well.”

So far, 2019-20 hasn’t been unlike Quenne-ville’s previous years as a taxi-squad forward. He has been quiet in three appearances for the Hawks, recording zero points and only three shot attempts despite skating on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik.

Colliton has been positive, however, in his appraisals of Quenneville’s effort and performance. That’s certainly a good, if small, sign that he might yet be able to make the full-time NHL leap.

“All I can do is judge him on is his performance since he’s been here, and he’s been skating, he’s winning battles, he’s being pretty clean with the puck, providing energy,” Colliton said. “That’s going to give him more time.”