The Monsters wish to congratulate Coach Quinn on his “call-up” to the NHL. This is yet another instance of the Monsters franchise playing a key role in the development of another NHL-quality person. As we all know, Coach Quinn is a great person, a great leader and a great hockey coach! We’re very happy for him and, while we are sorry to see him leave, we’re proud that he is advancing in the Avalanche organization and view it as an indicator of the high quality of the Monsters hockey operation and partnership with the Avs. We’re confident that this will continue. The Avalanche have already begun their search for a new head coach for the Monsters, and hope to have someone in place in the near future.

Please see the release below from the Colorado Avalanche, announcing Lake Erie Monsters head coach David Quinn as the new assistant coach for the Avs. He joins former Monsters head coach and current Avs head coach Joe Sacco in Colorado.

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the appointment of David Quinn as the team’s assistant coach. Quinn will join Tim Army behind the bench as the two assistants under head coach Joe Sacco.

Quinn, 45, has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of Colorado’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. He compiled a 115-94-7-20 record (.544%) in 236 games as Lake Erie’s head coach, which included guiding the Monsters to their first-ever playoff berth in 2010-11. Quinn helped Lake Erie to a 37-29-3-7 mark (.553%) this past season.

“David has been an important part of our development efforts over the past three seasons,” said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman. “He has worked with our young players throughout the organization and he will be an outstanding addition to our coaching staff.”

“David brings many years of experience to our coaching staff,” said Sacco. “He has done a tremendous job as Lake Erie’s head coach and we look forward to having him as a part of our group.”

Following the 2011-12 season, Quinn served as an assistant coach for the United States at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Stockholm and Helsinki. His USA Hockey coaching experience includes serving as an assistant for the silver medal-winning 1999 and 2000 U.S. Women's National Teams, as well as an assistant for the men’s team at the 2007 IIHF World Championship and 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Quinn joined the Avalanche organization after a successful five-year stint as associate head coach at Boston University, a run that concluded with an NCAA championship in 2009. Prior to coaching at BU, Quinn served as a coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He also had coaching stints with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Northeastern University. A native of Cranston, Rhode Island, Quinn was a first-round pick by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.