B-Sens Profile: Buddy Robinson

Buddy Robinson, a guy you may want to watch out for this upcoming season for the Binghamton Senators. The 6′ 5″ 236 lb right-winger signed a 3 year entry-level deal with Ottawa in late March of this year and this will be his first full year in the pros. The New Jersey native was signed as a free agent out of Lake Superior where he spent the last 2 seasons playing for the Division II school. Robinson registered 8 goals and 8 assists in 38 games last season then made his B-Sens debut for 6 games scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.

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Coach Luke Richardson has high praise for the 21-year-old as he recently told Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen;

"“He’s a big guy, he can skate, he gets in on the forecheck and that just terrorizes defencemen nowadays, when you can’t hold up anybody,” he said. “And he’s got some good hands around the net. He scored a couple of real nice goals for us (in Binghamton) and had dozens of other chances that just missed, but maybe that was just part of the excitement of being up a level.”"

For the brief stint he was in Bingo, Richardson juggled the lines so he could get some chemistry going and help find his role with his new team mates. It seems the line of Corey Cowick–Derek Grant-Robinson might be the right fit being the 2nd or 3rd line on any given night. Or insert  David Dziurzynski in place of Cowick and that would give Grant some room to be creative with the puck between the two big guys. But I’m not the coach and it’s easy playing the game behind a laptop. Besides, 6 games under his belt in a totally different atmosphere, it’s hard to get a complete feel for him at this level this early.

However, Robinson comes across as having a good attitude for success. “It’s the first thing that everyone notices – scouts, coaches, other teams. ‘Wow, that’s a big guy.’ They expect me to play like that type of player,” he went on to say to LSSU Sports Director Linda Bouvet earlier this year. “I’ve got to play like a big guy. I have to get stronger in the weight room and be the one to get in the corners..I love it though.”

There’s going to be adjustment’s needed for his game especially at home, playing on a smaller ice surface than college might be a good thing for him bouncing players off the boards in the comfy confines of the Broome County Arena. Or what it takes to be a pro, bus trips, and the grind of a long season. Having that taste in Binghamton late last spring including the playoffs, will make those adjustments that much smoother in the upcoming 2013-’14 AHL campaign.

I’m excited to see what this kid can do under Richardson’s guidance. He’s not a big point producer, but using his large frame might also land him a spot on the special teams, taking Hugh Jessiman‘s role in front of the net on the pp, or blocking shots on the pk unit as well. Robinson is also not a fighter by any measure, as witnessed at the rookie tournament last week with Toronto’s Andrew MacWilliam, however maybe Richardson can address that by having one of his ‘fighting clinics’ again like last season. Hey, it worked for Shane Prince, right?

Next Week’s Profile: Defenseman Michael Sdao

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Update: I mentioned before forward Jack Downing might be trying out for Binghamton, but he won’t. Instead he has been invited to the Boston Bruins training camp. Will he end up joining ex-B-Sens good guy turn bad Bobby Robins in a Providence Bruins uniform? Stay tuned..