NHL preseason games give some of the league's top young players the opportunity to show their worth, but from time to time it's the lesser known players who shine.
Monday's game between the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon featured former first round draft picks Sean Monahan, Sven Baertschi and Cody Ceci among others. Despite the strong showing from those players, it was undrafted 21-year-old Buddy Robinson who stood out for the Senators.
"He had a great shot again tonight. He's a big body and when he gets his feet going he's a big horse going down the wall and it's great to see a young guy like that get a couple goals," said Senators' forward Clarke MacArthur of Robinson, who has scored in consecutive games for Ottawa so far in the preseason.
The six foot, five inch forward signed an entry level deal with the Senators in March after playing college hockey for Lake Superior State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Coming into the preseason, Robinson would have been considered a long shot to make it to the NHL, but after a night of scoring chances and chasing down defenceman on the forecheck with better pursuit than anyone his size should possess, he should be on the radar.
"You just gotta work as hard as you can and, one day, when they call your number, you gotta take advantage of that opportunity," said Robinson.
Being an undrafted rookie can be discouraging, especially when competing for a roster spot with players the organization has more invested in, but Robinson has a positive view of his scenic route to the NHL.
"Free agency … it has its advantages, you get to pick the best fit for you and so far Ottawa's been great and nothing bad about it. I've enjoyed every minute of it here," he said. "The guys from the upper management down to the coaches and the players, everyone's been great, real friendly. If you ever need a helping hand, everyone's right there, so it's been unbelievable."
He was born Charles James Robinson, but because he is the third generation with that name, he goes by "Buddy" now.
The game itself saw the Credit Union Centre filled to well under half capacity. The announced attendance was less than 6,500 for an arena with seating for 15,190. Calgary Flames jerseys were most visible among the crowd, but a number of Senators fans were on hand as well.
Calgary supporters went home disappointed after the team lost 4-2. However, the game was as close as it gets with both teams registering 35 shots.
The first period didn't feature much action. Robinson got a short-handed marker with just over three minutes remaining in the frame. He was one-on-one with Flames' defenceman Shane O'Brien when he beat goaltender Reto Berra over the blocker with a wrist shot.
A little more than a minute later, Calgary's David Jones got rocked by Michael Sdao as he came down the right side boards, just inside the blue line. Matt Stajan jumped in, but all that came of it was a minor tussle.
The first ended with Calgary trailing on the scoreboard, but leading 12-8 in shots.
Judging by the second period, it was impossible to tell the Flames and Senators were in separate conferences. There were two fights in the frame and scuffles after almost every whistle. Brian McGrattan, a former Senator, earned himself 17 penalty minutes when he fought Sdao early in the second. McGrattan clearly won the bout, capped off by multiple punches to Sdao when he was already down.
"For a while it looked like a playoff game out there. Like suddenly we have some friends in the Eastern Conference," said Bob Hartley, head coach of the Flames.
Ottawa did add to its lead in the second when Cory Conacher scored early in the period off a wrist shot reminiscent of Robinson's. The Senators outshot Calgary 13-6 in the period.
Although each team was quiet offensively after 40 minutes, the third period had a much different feel. Just over seven minutes in, Ottawa defenceman Mark Borowiecki scored on a point shot to make it 3-0.
With the game slipping away, Calgary forward David Jones finally solved Ottawa netminder Andrew Hammond, who took over for Nathan Lawson in the third period, with a hard wrist shot off the rush.
Ottawa must have missed having a three-goal lead because five minutes later, Kyle Turris put the puck on a platter for MacArthur, who ripped a shot from the hash marks to beat Berra.
Corban Knight scored shortly after for Calgary in the offence filled period, but with the time ticking down, the Flames didn't have much of a chance at a comeback.
With the team currently in the rebuilding phase, Hartley said he was pleased with the performance from Calgary's young players.
"We still saw some mistakes, but we saw lots of good plays. Like, I'm really proud of our young players and our veterans stood up. I felt that we had some great chances too, but we couldn't get the big goal to get us back in the game," he said.
The NHL comes back to Saskatoon Sept. 27 when the Boston Bruins take on the Winnipeg Jets.
