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Craig Berube on Nick Cousins’ hit on Jacob Quillan: ‘To me, that’s a knee all day long’

Originally posted on TheLeafsnation | By Alex Hobson | Last updated Jan 26, 2025 10:50 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped the fifth of their last six games against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night by a score of 2-1 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. The Leafs have now lost both games to the Senators this season, with the first affair ending in a 3-0 loss to Ottawa on home ice, and unlike previous years, the Senators are pushing for a spot in the playoffs come the 50-game mark of the season.

One of the storylines heading into Saturday night’s game was the debut of forward Jacob Quillan, who was signed by the Maple Leafs out of Quinnipiac University of the NCAA prior to the 2024-25 season. The 22-year-old Nova Scotia native had family and friends in attendance for his debut and earned the call-up following the announcement that Connor Dewar was going on injured reserve (IR). He had 15 points in 35 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies to date and made his debut skating alongside Marlies teammate Fraser Minten and veteran Ryan Reaves.

It wasn’t long into the game that Senators forward Nick Cousins stuck his knee out while passing by Quillan and collided with him. Cousins ended up getting the worst of the collision, needing help to get off the ice, while Quillan skated off the pain and ended up staying in the game, although he didn’t play much in the second half of the game. He more or less brushed the collision off and moved on, but head coach Craig Berube wasn’t thrilled with the hit.

Craig Berube: "That was tough hit. I didn't understand how they all missed that. To me, that's a knee all day long. But he was fine." https://t.co/MaM1rVidO9

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) January 26, 2025

Even if the collision was simply an accident, Cousins hasn’t done much to earn the benefit of the doubt. He’s established a reputation over the years for sticking his knee out, hitting someone low, or giving them an extra push from behind during a board battle. He earned 71% of the votes for the NHL’s most hated player from The Athletic’s player poll in 2023-24, and found himself on the wrong end of a beatdown at the hands of defenceman Erik Gudbranson after giving the hulking blueliner a questionable hit from behind.

In the end, all that matters is that Quillan is okay after the collision. It wasn’t a fun situation for the rookie to be in considering the amount of family and friends in attendance and having him leave the game with an injury would have been the most unfortunate outcome of all, but he finished the game and is okay.

The Leafs will be in action again on Wednesday when they host the Minnesota Wild.

This article first appeared on TheLeafsnation and was syndicated with permission.

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