San Jose came into this draft with zero selections between 39th and 106th overall after trading their third round pick to Philadelphia last summer for Tye McGinn. Surprisingly, though, the Edmonton Oilers elected to provide the compensatory pick owed to the Sharks for their hiring of Todd McLellan this year rather than in 2016 or 2017. With the 86th overall pick, formerly owned by the Oilers, the Sharks have selected 6’4″, 200-pound American goaltender Mike Robinson. Robinson, who posted a .937 SV% in 8 Eastern Hockey League games this year, will still be a high school senior next year and is committed to the University of New Hampshire for the 2017-18 season. Here’s a scouting report from SB Nation’s college hockey site:
The Bedford, NH native is a big goaltender who impresses scouts with his size and fundamentals. He’s not overly athletic, quick or agile, but he is technically sound. He does a nice job squaring up to and challenging shooters and he covers a lot of the net with his big frame.
Robinson, who also plays with the Boston Jr. Rangers organization, has worked with Goalie Development Services (GDS) guru Michael Buckley.
“Mike is a play-reading, athletic goaltender. He has great size and his ability to understand the game keeps him calm and poised. When things get unpredictable he has the ability and compete level to battle. He is a well balanced goaltender technically, physically and mentally,” said Buckley, a former goaltending coach for UMass and UNH.
Both Barker and Buckley raved about Robinson’s work ethic and desire to get better. Robinson, who also plays on the golf team at Lawrence Academy, was one of the best goaltenders at March’s Beantown Spring Classic, an event extremely well attended by scouts and college coaches.
Robinson was ranked 8th among North American goalies by Central Scouting.
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