WORCESTER – While a collision on the ice last December sent hockey player Jack Quinlivan to the emergency room for injuries, it not only knocked him out of the game and gave him whiplash; it may have saved his life.
The lifelong Shrewsbury resident, an ECHL rookie with the Worcester Railers, collided violently with Idaho Steelheads forward Ryan Dmowski that Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center. The crash meant the end of the game for Quinlivan. It looked like one of those plays that could even mean the end of the season.
Instead, it meant catching a disease in its early stages by chance.
When all the exams and tests and charts and graphs were finished, doctors discovered that, at age 26, Quinlivan had papillary thyroid cancer.
“It was absolutely a complete surprise,” he said of the diagnosis. “I had felt fine. I was really in shock. My mind kind of went blank a little bit. It was hard to take in but at the same time, things happen for a reason.”
The injury turned to be whiplash, not a concussion. As part of the testing, though, Railers rehabilitation coordinator Wayne Penniman felt what seemed like an inflamed nodule on Quinlivan’s neck. Penniman had a similar issue himself — a benign growth, it turned out — but he and Railers trainer Alex Maring agreed it was a good idea to do some more testing.
“My situation could have been way worse,” Quinlivan said. “This type of thyroid cancer is 99 percent treatable. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s definitely a shock. And then when you learn it’s kind of spread, it had advanced more quickly than you think, that’s kind of scary. But it was taken care of.
“They hinted that if it had gone to other parts of my body it definitely would have been a problem. Luckily it didn’t, but it was spreading pretty quickly through the neck and if we hadn’t found out in time, then who knows what would have happened?”
The cancer was discovered early. That did not mean the treatment was easy.
“No, it was fairly difficult,” Quinlivan said. “It was two surgeries, two months apart, then I had to take a radioactive iodine pill that kills the rest of the cells. But the surgeries were hard, definitely.”
Quinlivan finally got back on the ice in June. And, no, it wasn’t like he had not forgotten how to play hockey. It was more like he’d never played the game before.
“It was definitely a re-learning process,” he said, “trying to get back to where I was. It was tough. My first reaction was, ‘Uh-oh, this is going to take some time.”
“After the second surgery, everything felt sore and strained and I was definitely not feeling myself. It’s hard when you don’t feel like you used to. It’s frustrating, but eventually you get back to the point where you feel good again.”
Railers’ training camp opened this weekend with Quinlivan on the roster still with only 10 pro games to his credit.
“I wouldn’t be honest if I said I wasn’t a little apprehensive,” he said. “I’ve done everything I can to get in shape and be ready, but training camp is different. It’s intense. It’s a lot of guys competing hard for jobs. I think I’m ready, but it may take a little time.”
Quinlivan worked hard at earning that initial chance to play pro hockey. He starred at Shrewsbury High as part of a team that won the state Div. 3 title in 2014 and was a big IceCats and Sharks fan. He then played Div. 1 college hockey at Maine where he wound up as team captain.
Last year, Quinlivan made the Railers out of training camp but Worcester had a roster stacked with AHL-level talent, winning a record nine straight games to start the season. When Quinlivan finally got playing time, he made the most of it, scoring two goals in his first 10 pro games. That was as many as he scored in 78 games his last three years at Maine.
“I noticed I was getting a lot more scoring chances in the ECHL than at Maine,” he said. “I was playing a role at Maine that was a defense-first mindset. I think this league allows you to be yourself more and play your game.”
During his recovery, Quinlivan watched a lot of Railers hockey either in person or online. His teammates treated him like he was still in uniform and skating a regular shift — that support was great — but it was not the same.
“It’s really uncomfortable, especially if you’re a scratch,” he said. “You almost feel like an outsider, that you’re not really contributing to the team. Nobody treats you that way, but that’s still how you feel. It definitely felt different and I’m not going to lie about that.”
Quinlivan’s medical tests have headed in the right direction and so has his training. “Towards the middle of August,” he said, “I got to where I was feeling really good, comfortable that I can contribute again and help win a Cup.”
This is not Worcester hockey’s first brush with cancer.
Midway through the 2004-05, the IceCats’ last season in town, coach Don Granato was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and had to leave the team for treatment. He recovered and resumed his coaching career. Granato is currently the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
With a different game farther east, Red Sox rookie pitcher Jon Lester had an experience somewhat similar to Quinlivan’s. He was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma while being checked for a non-baseball injury. In 2006 his car was rear-ended while he was driving to Fenway Park.
He came down with a sore back that he figured was a result of the accident. The back did not get better, though, and after further testing, he was diagnosed with cancer.
Lester went on to have a long, successful major league career.
Making the Railers roster last season was a dream come true for Quinlivan.
“I take a lot of pride in being from around here,” he said, “in growing up here and playing here. So it’s pretty cool to have it come full circle and have the opportunity to play in Worcester.”
That opportunity was abbreviated by last year’s diagnosis. This fall is not just a new opportunity for Quinlivan. It also amounts to a new life.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
