Number: 50
Birth date: June 14, 1995 (age 27)
Birthplace: Bellmawr, N.J.
Height, Weight: 6-2, 201
Stats: 67 GP, 10-17-27
Contract: Signed through 2023-24 season (Two years remaining until UFA status)
During a hockey season, all a coach can ask for is some sort of constant he can lean into.
Things aren’t always going to be great over the course of 82 games, so having a stabilizing force when times get rough is like having a security blanket that can pay off.
For Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen a season ago, in many ways that was the duo of Sean Kuraly and Eric Robinson. The two didn’t always play together, but they did skate almost 550 minutes of 5-on-5 time with one another in 62 games over the course of the season.
Both ended up posting career highs in goals and points, but more than that, they served as a sort of identity line for the Blue Jackets. The duo played with heart, played with speed and did the little things right, which not only led to production, it allowed Larsen to place inexperienced or struggling players with the duo to help them find their games.
“I’m comfortable playing with Robby,” Kuraly said during the season. “I really like playing with him. He’s been a guy that when I know I’m playing with him, it’s a comforting thing. He has been good all year. He has a lot of assets — he has speed and can shoot, he’s simple, plays hard every night — so it’s been fun to play with him.”
Now Robinson will get a chance to add a childhood friend to the roster in Johnny Gaudreau, the fellow South Jersey native who signed with Columbus last month. The two grew up together, as Gaudreau’s father was Robinson’s first coach, and the two and their brothers (younger brother Matthew for Gaudreau, older brother Buddy for Robinson) were often in the same age groups as well.
“It’s pretty surreal, honestly,” Robinson said. “We go way back. I am a little bit closer in age to his younger brother Matt, so (Johnny) was always playing with my older brother and I was always playing with Matt. Then as we got older we played a year of high school hockey together and then remained friends. To be able to play with someone you’ve known for that long and grown up with is pretty special.”
Robinson posted the second two-goal game of his career in the Blue Jackets’ game Dec. 14 at Vancouver. Both of them came in the first period and both of them showed off Robinson’s excellent speed in transition. On the first, he sped past a defenseman to create a 2-on-1, then buried Alexandre Texier‘s pass for the opening goal. Later in the frame, Robinson jetted past two Canucks defensemen to skate onto a loose puck and then beat Jaroslav Halak with a shot to give the Jackets a 3-0 lead.
Video: CBJ@VAN: Robinson wins race to the puck and scores
Video: CBJ@OTT: Robinson rips a shot into the net on rush
Robinson has continued to earn more and more trust each year he’s been with the Blue Jackets, and this season he played a career-high 155:30 on the penalty kill. Not only that, he had the ability to create offense while a man down, in part because of his tremendous speed. Of the 114 NHL forwards to skate at least 100 minutes on the PK, Robinson placed 24th in shots on goal per 60 minutes and 21st in shot percentage per Natural Stat Trick. He also finished with a pair of shorthanded goals on the season.
Video: PHI@CBJ: Robinson buries SHG on breakaway
Robinson is a speedy forward who can drive play, post excellent defensive numbers and chip in offense, too. At age 27, he’s likely not going to become much more than what he is at this point, but there’s nothing wrong with that — in many ways he’s a prototypical bottom-six winger in today’s NHL in the way his speed and size can impact the game. There are plenty of wing options available to the Blue Jackets this year, but it still seems likely he remains a team regular given the way his abilities help drive things for Columbus’ forward group.
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