From Blades to Sharks, Robins follows father’s footsteps

Tristen Robins was a second round NHL Entry Draft pick.

At times, it seems like the hockey Gods have predetermined Tristen Robins’ path through the game.

That path sees Tristen following in the footsteps of his father, Trevor Robins. The one big difference between the two is Tristen is a high-scoring centre, while Trevor was a solid puck stopping goalie.

For three seasons from 1989 to 1992, Trevor, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 179 pounds, played in the WHL for the Saskatoon Blades. He was named to the WHL’s Eastern Conference first all-star team in 1991-92, which was a campaign where the Blades advanced to the WHL Championship series and fell in a series deciding seventh game to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

Tristen Robins is a star with the Blades.

As for Tristen, it appeared at first his WHL career was going to be with the Regina Pats, who selected him in the fourth round and 76^th overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

On January 8, 2018, Tristen’s WHL rights were acquired by the Blades in a blockbuster trade. In that trade, Tristen, defenceman Dawson Davidson and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft went to the Blades in exchanged for import Czech defenceman Libor Hajek.

The Pats acquired Hajek in order to load up their roster as the host of the Memorial Cup tournament in May of 2018.

Tristen, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, has played two full seasons with the Blades. He shot up to star status this past campaign piling up 33 goals, 40 assists and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games.

On Wednesday, the hand of fate saw Tristen once again follow in his father’s hockey footsteps. 

Tristan Robins led the Blades with 73 points last season.

At the NHL Entry Draft that was via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, the San Jose Sharks picked Tristen in the second round and 56^th overall.

The Sharks happened to be the first professional team Trevor signed with.

Following the 1991-92 season, Trevor was traded by the Blades to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who had finished last in the entire league with a record of 11 wins, 55 loses and six ties. Brandon is the hometown of the Robins family.

With Trevor starting in goal as an overager, the Wheat Kings shot up to fourth overall in the WHL with a record of 43 wins, 25 losses and four ties. He was again named to the WHL’s Eastern Conference first all-star team.

Tristen Robins followed his dad’s footsteps to the Blades.

Trevor ended up signing a free agent contract with the Sharks.

In his second season as a professional in 1994-95, Trevor was called up from the International Hockey League’s Kansas City Blades to the Sharks, who dealing with injury problems in goal. Trevor spent about three months going up and down between the two teams but ultimately never saw action in and NHL game.

One day, Tristen, who is 18-years-old, might be able to one-up his father and hit the ice for an NHL game.

This was first time Tristan was eligible for the NHL Entry Draft due to his birthday being in November. Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Tristen Robins is following his dad’s footsteps to the Sharks.

Tristan will be playing in his 19-year-old season in the 2020-21 WHL campaign, which is targeted to start late on Dec. 4 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The NHL is targeting to start its regular season on January 1, 2021.

As an 18-year-old sophomore, Tristen kept turning more and more heads of NHL scouts. He was rated 134th among North American Skaters in the midterm ranking put out by NHL Central Scouting.

Tristen Robins (#11) celebrates one of his 33 goals last season.

Tristen leaped up to the 86th spot among North American skaters on the final NHL Central Scouting rankings. His stock continued to rise resulting in a second round draft selection.

The 2019-20 WHL campaign was ultimately ended on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but had Tristen been able to participate in the playoffs for a second straight year, he might have further increased his draft stock.

Tristen helped the Blades post a 34-24-2-3 record to officially lock up a playoff berth before the season was halted.

He has the skating, puck handling, shooting and hockey sense abilities few have. Tristen has also been a perfect representative for the Blades in the community.

It would not be a surprise to see Tristen put all of those characteristics on display in the NHL some day. He has the potential to make the Sharks brass look very wise for selecting him.

Tigers G Garin Bjorklund was picked by the Capitals.

The NHL Entry Draft concluded on Wednesday with teams selecting players in rounds two through seven. Over the draft’s two days, 28 players from the WHL were picked up NHL clubs.

Left-winger Cross Hanas of the Portland Winterhawks was the first WHL player taken in Wednesday’s NHL Entry Draft proceedings going in the second round and 55^th overall to the Detroit Red Wings. The Highland Village, Texas, product posted 22 goals, 27 assists and a plus-20 rating in 60 games with the Winterhawks.

Of some of the other various notables, Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Daemon Hunt was taken in the third round and 65^th overall by the Minnesota Wild. The Brandon, Man., product was limited to 28 games this past season due to a skate cut injury to his arm.

Hunt had 15 assists in those games and was playing for the Warriors when the campaign was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brandon’s Ben McCartney (#22) was picked by the Coyotes.

Kamloops Blazers goalie Dylan Garand was selected in the fourth round and 103^rd overall by the New York Rangers. The Victoria, B.C., product posted a 28-10-3 record, a 2.21 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games last season with the Blazers.

Medicine Hat Tigers right-winger Lukas Svejkovsky was taken in the fourth round and 108^th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Point Roberts, Wash., product recorded 18 goals, 20 assists and a plus-38 rating in 52 games split between the Vancouver Giants and Tigers. The Tigers acquired Svejkovsky via a trade.

Portland Winterhawks left-winger Jaydon Dureau was selected in the fifth round and 147^th overall. The White City, Sask., product recorded 19 goals, 51 assists and a plus-41 rating in 61 regular season games.

Tristen Robins (#11) celebrates a Blades win with Riley McKay.

Tigers netminder Garin Bjorklund was picked in the sixth round and 179^th overall by the Washington Capitals. The Grande Prairie, Alta., product posted a 20-5-1 record, a 2.91 goals against average, a .897 save percentage and one shutout last season as a 17-year-old rookie.

Wheat Kings left-winger Ben McCartney was selected in the seventh round and 204^th overall by the Arizona Coyotes. The Macdonald, Man., product collected 25 goals, 36 assists and a plus-eight rating in 61 games last season for the Wheat Kings.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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