MADISON, Wis. — At only two years old, Quinn Finley got his first taste of hockey. Despite living in sunny Arizona, it was a life on the ice that the Madison Capitols forward chose.
"It was a super hot day one day and just driving around downtown Scottsdale when we saw these open free lessons," Finley said.
"We (Finley and his family) decided to walk into the rink and just kind of fell in love with it right there."
Years later, the 17-year-old is committed to play college hockey for the University of Wisconsin and is a 2022 NHL Draft prospect after helping the Madison Capitols to this season's Clark Cup Final. Finley was ranked as the No. 36 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in its final ranking list.
After Finley had been playing in Arizona for a few years, he and his family moved to Wisconsin, where Finley made some of his favorite hockey memories.
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"I actually live on a lake, so it was pretty easy to have some of the guys come over and skate on the rink in the backyard," Finley said.
"I mean having those guys that come over and play hockey — and of course all of your buddies and friends who don't play hockey and they're always out there wanting to skate. So just all the laughs and smiles and having a good time out there on the rink, I think that's what really stood out."
The game has brought Finley all across the world, especially while playing juniors. He was the first overall pick by the Madison Capitols in the 2020 USHL Futures Draft, but would end up playing his first year with the Chicago Steel.
"I was drafted by Madison but they didn't play because of COVID," Finley said. "There was the whole Dispersal Draft, so I ended up going to Chicago. Once Chicago's season ended and we ended up winning it all, after the season all of the guys that were in the Dispersal Draft had to go back to their old teams, so I ended up going back to the Capitols and I loved it. I was super excited to go back."
Finley helped the Capitols to their best season in franchise history this year, with a run to the Clark Cup Final ultimately ending in defeat to the Sioux City Musketeers. He scored 12 goals and added 17 assists in 39 games for the Capitols and tallied 5 goals and 5 assists in 14 playoff games.
The Wisconsin Badger commit's name has been thrown around in multiple scouting reports leading up to this year's NHL Draft in Montreal — scheduled for July 7-8 at the Bell Centre — which Finley and his family will be attending. Despite the pressure that may come with the Draft, Finley isn't letting any chatter distract him.
"I'm just doing the same things that I do every day and trying to get better every day," Finley said.
"I'm not trying to act it out. I'm just being myself, showing my personality and have a smile and have fun with it."
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Quinn Finley
Age: 17
Hometown: Suamico, Wis.
Position: Forward
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 170 pounds
Current team: Madison Capitols (USHL)
College: University of Wisconsin
NHL Rights: 2022 NHL Draft Prospect
Elite Prospects Profile Link
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