HAMBURG, N.Y. — Quentin Musty might be the best 15-year-old hockey player in the country, which makes it a little surprising that he wasn't a natural the first time he hit the ice.
"I hated hockey, actually, at first," he says. "I wanted to go home every time I got there. But as I went on, I got better and I started liking it better. Just falling over every time. Hurting yourself sometimes. But getting back up was hard."
He stuck with it, and started to enjoy hockey once he actually started playing games. Musty says he took hockey more seriously as a teenager, and excelled in two seasons with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. That success led to a recruitment call from the North Jersey Avalanche, a high-profile 16U team based in Hackensack, N.J.
Musty was excited to branch out on his own, but two weeks into the season, a routine hit led to a torn labrum in his left shoulder (the same shoulder that experienced a growth plate injury and a dislocation in the previous two years). Quentin had to head home to Hamburg shortly after settling in with his new friends.
"Getting to know all the kids at the house for that first month I was there, and I had to leave so soon was tough," he says. "My parents would be gone all day for work. My sister would be gone at school. I’d be sitting around doing nothing. Just doing schoolwork and playing video games."
"His sister, Carolyn, had just had shoulder surgery on her shoulder three weeks prior. So we had two teenagers in the house with major shoulder surgery recovering at the same time," remembers Missy, Quentin's mother. "So that was a little … just getting through the emotion and the pain, and just keeping them settled and doing the therapy and everything."
Rehab from surgery was an arduous process; Musty couldn't skate for six weeks, and he needed two more weeks until he could hold a stick again.
"When I really started picking it up was when I went back to Hackensack, to the house to see all the boys and I could rehab there," he says. "Skate, and be around the game.”
"He’s always been matter-of-fact, doing what he needs to do," his mother said. "I don’t think this was different for him."
It took almost six months of rehab before Musty could return to game action. He didn't miss a beat, helping to lead the Avs to a 16U National Title in early May. OHL teams noticed Musty's size and skill, and they reached out to tell him that they wanted to select him in the first round of this year's OHL Draft.
The Sudbury Wolves, owners of the top pick, refused to let Musty slip to other teams, nabbing the young forward first overall.
"It was really great," he says. "Just really exciting to be picked that high and win that award. Having names like Steven Stamkos, Connor McDavid, Quinton Byfield, all those on the same trophy as mine is great."
"We didn’t really expect the number-one pick," says Missy. "We didn’t expect everything that’s gone along with this. It’s been definitely like, ‘holy cow.’ But I go in waves. Sometimes I’m like, ‘wow, that’s my kid.’ And other times, I’m like, ‘yeah, that’s my kid! He deserves this!’ He’s always put in the work, he’s always been focused and driven, and wants to be the best."
Musty’s in good company: between 1981 and 2015, 35 players have been the OHL's top pick — 33 of those players were eventually drafted by NHL teams, and 21 of them were first-round picks.
"Obviously, that’s the goal: to become a top draft pick in the next two years," he says. "But right now, I’m just focused on coming in, trying to make an impact for my team and trying to win a championship."
Musty will be eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft, shortly before he turns 18 years old.