Monday, March 25, 2013

Langley forward Robinson signs on with Penn State

Press Release

The Langley Rivermen are pleased to announce the commitment of forward James Robinson to Penn State University for the 2014-15 season. In his first year with the Rivermen, Robinson tallied nine goals and 33 assists for 42 points in 55 games.

“I am very excited about my commitment to Penn State. They have a great hockey program to go along with a fabulous school and I am proud that I will be a part of it all,” said Robinson.

The hockey program at Penn State is new to Division I hockey and will join the newly created “Big 10” Hockey Conference. The Nittany Lions will also play in a brand new state of the art “Pegula Ice Arena” which is a 200,000 square foot, 6,000-seat facility.

“The new facility is state of the art and will be very fun to play in, but I really liked the coach Guy Gadowsky. He is obviously a very prestigious coach around the NCAA ranks and when he talked about his philosophy with regards to the program it seemed like a great fit for me,” said the Cochrane, Alberta native.

Langley head coach and GM Bobby Henderson was happy to hear the news and thought it was a long time coming,

“I am very proud of James committing to a program like Penn State," he said. "They are an emerging hockey power house and for him to be able to be a part of that it’s a great thing for James and of course the Rivermen organization.”

Robinson had a strong rookie season and finished third in scoring on the team. Coach Henderson knew that he was a very good player when he signed him in the offseason, but did not expect him to produce like he did,

“He was as advertised right from the BCHL Showcase, however I do not think I expected him to have the type of impact that he did in his first year. I thought it might have been more of a feeling out process for him, but with his work ethic and skating ability the transition was seamless.”

Like Robinson, Coach Henderson only had positive things to say about Gadowsky and the type of program he runs,

“In my two years coaching in the BCHL, Coach Gadowsky has been a guy that I have looked up to and just looking at his track record when he was in Alaska and Princeton it’s pretty remarkable what he has accomplished," said Henderson. "It’s exciting for James that he not only gets to play division one hockey, but to play under a two-time coach of the year will only help his development."

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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