Hockey Warriors recruit dual-sport star in Robinson
WATERLOO — Waterloo Region’s Deion Sanders is back.
Brandon Robinson, a dual athlete who plays hockey and lacrosse, is returning to the ice rink after a run in the National Lacrosse League.
The 24-year-old former Kitchener Rangers forward announced his commitment with the University of Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday.
“It was a pretty easy decision,” he said. “I love the area.”
Robinson has been pulling double duty since he was a kid. Every summer the Pickering native wielded a lacrosse stick before switching to hockey in the winter.
But his focus shifted firmly to the ice once he was drafted seventh overall by the Brampton Battalion in the 2011 Ontario Hockey League draft, and later traded to the Rangers.
OHL coaches didn’t want the power forward getting injured in the off-season, so he had to put lacrosse on hold.
Robinson latched on with Wilfrid Laurier University after graduating from junior hockey and spent parts of three seasons with the Golden Hawks.
Midway through his third year, he felt the pull of lacrosse tugging on his soul. So, he left campus for a two-season haul with the Rochester Knighthawks and the Halifax Thunderbirds in the NLL.
But the break reminded him how much he loves both sports.
“I found myself missing hockey a lot,” he said. “I think if I didn’t do it (return) I would regret it down the line.”
So, Robinson reached out to Warriors associate coach — and former Rangers teammate — Ben Fanelli and the comeback was on.
Playing for Laurier’s crosstown rival is going to be odd.
“I know for a fact there have been some chippy games and I’ve gotten into some stuff with them and said some things I probably regret and they’ve done the same,” said Robinson. “But, once you’re teammates, you laugh about it and move on.”
A bigger concern is getting back on skates after about a year off.
“It’s a weird transition,” he said. “There is a week or two there where you’re getting back into the swing of things. It’s kind of reteaching yourself.”
Robinson’s goal is to finish his degree in arts, turn in a solid season and then either return to the NLL (Halifax still owns his rights), try his hand at pro hockey in Europe or the
ECHL, or do both. “With the pandemic, I’ve realized I just want to enjoy every day at the rink in hockey and every day when I’m playing lacrosse,” he said.