Now that he’s joining Penn State University’s hockey program, Cochrane’s James Robinson may want to get there in one piece.
The Cochrane Minor Hockey product and Edge School grad finished his first injury-free season in the last two; this season’s good fortune coming as a rookie with the Langley Rivermen of the B.C. Hockey League (BCHL).
He spent most of his senior year at Edge on the shelf, recovering from a severed Achilles tendon as a result of a kick. The injury took 175 stitches and six months to mend.
Throw in four broken collar bones along the way, including one that had him miss his entire first year of bantam, and he’s relieved to get through a season without medical intervention.
“No injuries this year, so that was good,” Robinson said. “I’ve had a lot of injuries in my minor-hockey career, for sure. My sliced Achilles was a big one. I think the trainers at the Edge do a pretty good job getting you ready for the next level.”
He has another year left with the Rivermen before joining the Nittany Lions in autumn 2014. Men’s hockey at Penn State is new to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1, and the school will join the new “Big 10” hockey conference starting next season. Robinson had other NCAA schools on the radar – Bowling Green, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Alaska – but felt Penn State was a good fit.
“I like coach (Guy) Gadowski’s philosophy and the way he coaches the game. They have a brand-new arena going in. That’s just a little icing on the cake.”
And he’s looking forward to joining the budding hockey program.
“I am pretty excited. Going to be a lot faster league. Obviously, a lot bigger guys. They’re older. They’re going to be a lot stronger than in junior.”
As for his first year in junior, in which the 6-foot-1, 180-pound forward tallied nine goals and 33 assists in 55 games:
“It was good. The first 10-20 games took me a while to get used to the level. Towards the last three-quarters of the year I was a lot more comfortable in the league.”
