Deron Quint
Induction Year: 2019
Birthday: 03/12/1976
City/Town: Durham, NH
Deron Quint, a Durham native, grew up playing for the Oyster River Youth Hockey Association and then at age 8, the Lowell Jr. Chiefs of the Metro Boston Hockey League and forged a professional career that spanned more than 20 years, including stints with six NHL teams.
After prepping at Cardigan Mountain School and Tabor Academy, the defenseman was drafted 30th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 1994. As a rookie in 1995-96, he tied an NHL record by scoring two goals in a four-second span. Quint remained with the Jets — who would become the Phoenix Coyotes — until March 7, 2000 when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Later that year he’d be traded again, to the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets.
Including a second stint with the Coyotes, Quint played in 463 NHL games, also with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders. He registered 46 goals and 97 assists for 143 points, and 166 penalty minutes. He holds the distinction of being the last active player to play for the original Winnipeg Jets.
During the NHL lockout, which resulted in the 2004-05 season being canceled, he signed a contract to play for Bolzano HC in Italy. That would begin a 13-season odyssey that would see him play for eight different teams in Europe and establish himself as a star in the Kontinental Hockey League.
In 2005, he joined Eisbaren Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany, a team he would lead to three league championships in four seasons. After signing in the offseason with the New York Islanders, and helping them make the playoffs, he returned to Eisbaren for the 2007-08 season, led them to another league championship and was named the DEL Defenseman of the Year. The next year, he led all league defenseman in scoring, was named an All-Star and set a franchise record by playing in 237 consecutive games.
Quint spent the next seven seasons on the KHL, first for one season with HC Nizhnekamsk and then with Traktor Chelyabinsk. In the 2010-11 season with Traktor, he set a KHL record for most goals scored by a defenseman in a season, and the next season he was named an All-Star as the team won the league. He would end up playing 416 career games for Traktor (the most by any North American) and collect 75 goals, 114 assists and 189 points. Twice he was named to the KHL All-Star Game and he played his fi nal season with them as captain, as well as the oldest
player in franchise history.
His career in the KHL also included a 2013-14 season split between Moscow Spartak, which was having financial woes, and CSKA Moscow. His last professional season was back in the DEL with reigning champion Munich EHC.
Upon retirement following the 2016-17 season, Deron had played the most career games of any North American in KHL history.