WHL NOTEBOOK: Robins ready for next chapter on the ice

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This article was published 04/05/2022 (1401 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As one door closes, another is about to open for Tristen Robins.

The 20-year-old Clear Lake product, who played his minor hockey in Brandon, just completed his outstanding Western Hockey League career with the Saskatoon Blades, and will turn pro next season.

“It was a pretty emotional time knowing that you’re going to move on,” Robins said. “But at the same time, I enjoyed every single year the most that I possibly could. I played alongside some great players and made some amazing friendships along the way. I wouldn’t change anything.”

The Blades were ousted on Friday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The five-foot-11, 186-pound Robins was taken 56th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the second round of the National Hockey League draft in 2020, but he won’t be heading south this spring. Both the Sharks and their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, missed the playoffs.

As a result, Robins is still in Saskatoon, spending time with some of his Blades teammates who haven’t already headed home.

Last fall, he attended his first full camp in San Jose with the Sharks — they set up in Arizona a year earlier due to California’s COVID-19 restrictions — and Robins came away impressed.

“It was awesome,” Robins said. “I guess it was technically my first pro camp because it was in San Jose and it was a lot more formal than what they had during COVID. It was awesome going there and being around the rink and experiencing it firsthand.”

He also learned a lot. It was his first chance to watch NHL players on and off the ice, and he picked up a lot he could incorporate into his own routines.

“You can learn so much from those guys,” Robins said. “Everything from how they carry themselves to the way they prepare and the way they treat their bodies, just everything. It’s remarkable to see how much time they put in not only at the rink but away from the rink. It’s something I’ve really tried to implement in my day-to-day routine.”

Robins was returned to the Blades by the Barracuda for another year of seasoning and accepted the challenge of making himself a better player. He also wanted to offer a lot more to Saskatoon on and off the ice.

“With the little bit of pro experience I had, I wanted to bring more leadership to the group and be a role model to the younger guys coming up,” he said.

Robins certainly did his part on the ice. He led the WHL in scoring early in the season, piling up 19 points in his first eight games. While he didn’t maintain that torrid pace, he never went more than two games without a point all season and scored nine game-winning goals.

He finished the season with 78 points on 33 goals and 45 assists in 62 games.

“I was fairly happy with it,” Robins said. “There were some ups and downs that I wish wouldn’t have happened but I guess that’s hockey. You can’t play perfect every night. Looking at it now, I just enjoyed every day. It’s been a pleasure being a Blade.”

Unfortunately for Robins, he suffered an unspecified upper-body injury in early April that cost him the last few games of the regular season, and the first three of the playoffs.

It was a devastating blow for the Blades, who were also without top defenceman and captain Aidan de la Gorgendiere after he suffered a season-ending upper-body injury.

“It’s frustrating, especially not being 100 per cent in playoffs and working through some things,” Robins said. “At the same time, I was extremely proud of our group because we honestly never had a full, healthy group the whole season.

“I think that just shows the resiliency and the maturity of the group we had.”

Injuries were a common refrain for teams around the league, something Robins chalks up to “dumb luck.”

It’s not the only instance of that in his career.

Robins had the misfortune of playing in the COVID era, losing the end of the 2019-20 season and most of the 2020-21 season to pandemic restrictions. He chooses to find the positives.

“It’s unfortunate and a little bit frustrating, but at the same time, I think during that COVID year that the majority of us were just happy to get some games in and play hockey in general, just with everything happening around the world and a lot of junior hockey not starting up,” Robins said.

Robins finished his WHL career with 200 points in 212 regular season WHL games and five more points in 13 playoff games. He said when he looks back in the future, it’s actually something one of his teammates did that will stick with him.

Five-year starter Nolan Maier set the all-time WHL record for most goaltending wins, finishing his career with 122 victories.

“He had a remarkable career and just to say that I spent four years with him,” Robins said. “… He’s an amazing goaltender and an even better person.”

Robins nearly didn’t play with Maier at all. He was originally selected 76th overall in the 2016 WHL draft by the Regina Pats and made his WHL debut on Sept. 23, 2017 as a Pat against the Wheat Kings in Regina.

His address changed when he was part of a deal on Jan. 8, 2018 that also saw the Blades acquire defenceman Dawson Davidson and a 2019 first-round draft pick for veteran import defenceman Libor Hájek as the Pats built up to host the Memorial Cup that May.

He said he’s changed a lot off the ice since his early days in the league.

“With the WHL, you have to grow up pretty quick,” Robins said. “You move away from home at 15 or 16 and you’re put into situations that not a lot of kids your age are if they’re still living at home. Maturing quick is something that just naturally happens in the Western Hockey League.

“I had some great role models with my coaches and my family and the players I’ve played with. It made it a lot easier.”

He’s matched that growth on the ice.

Robins always had a reputation as an elite offensive talent — he finished second in the Winnipeg AAA Hockey League Bantam Division 1 with 51 goals and 40 assists in just 35 games in 2015-16 — but he said the greatest growth in his game has come on the other side of the puck.

“I think the biggest thing that has evolved in my game is that growing up, I wasn’t really much of a 200-foot player,” Robins said. “I was mostly just offence but you can get away with that in peewee or bantam and maybe a bit in midget. I think the thing that sets me apart now is how rounded I’m beginning to make my game.

“I think throughout my WHL career I’ve been relied on in all situations and that’s ultimately made me a more reliable and better hockey player.”

In a neat bit of symmetry, Tristen’s father Trevor played goal for the Blades for three seasons from 1989 to 1992, starting 150 games before he was dealt to the Wheat Kings for his overage season. After he graduated from major junior, Trevor signed with the Sharks, which means Tristen has now followed in his father’s footsteps twice.

Tristen said as his major junior career finishes up, it’s good to know what’s next.

“It’s really nice and also extremely exciting because I know I’m going to be in San Jose,” Robins said. “I’m just doing my best to do everything I can to get stronger, faster, better this summer and hopefully challenge of a spot on that NHL roster next year.

“It’s for sure a little bit of peace of mind but it’s exciting and nervous as well, just because I want to do everything I can to make an impact.”

ICINGS: Matt Barnsley, who resigned as general manager of the Kamloops Blazers last May after three seasons and took an amateur scouting job with the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, has returned to the WHL as GM of the Spokane Chiefs … Kamloops forward Logan Stankoven was named the player of the month for April after leading all WHL skaters with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 10 regular season and WHL playoff games. Stankoven, who is from Kamloops, is a Dallas Stars prospect … Edmonton Oil Kings netminder Sebastian Cossa was named the goaltender of the month for April after winning six of his seven appearances in the regular season and playoffs with a 1.56 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage and two shutouts. Both Stankoven and Cossa were named monthly winners for the second time this season.

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