Robinson a natural-born leader

By Kevin Mitchell
Sports Editor
Vernon Morning Star

Photo by Jenna Hauck

Natural-born leader. Check-till-ya-drop effort every shift. Responsible two-way forward.

Now a rotating captain with the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League, Dave Robinson has been a complete player since his days with the Watkin Motors Mustangs.

The Vernon minor hockey grad, who turned 19 on February 6, has fond memories of his Vernon Coca-Cola Pee Wee Classic experience.

"I remember we had one of the better teams in the round-robin and we needed to be Saanich, but we lost to Saanich, in overtime, and that knocked us out of the playoffs; we didn't even make it to the semifinals," says Robinson.

The grandson of the late Vern Dye, a founder of the B.C. Junior Hockey League, Robinson played alongside Kris Glinsbockel and Taylor Bourgeous with the Mustangs. His coaches were Keith Chase and Mike Kakoske.

"It was the highlight of my career up until that point. We were in the Winter Carnival parade, we got bags (equipment) and we were in the paper. It was a pretty huge deal to us then. They run it like a Midget tournament, with a banquet."

The feisty 5-foot-10, 170-pounder compiled 15 points and 117 penalty minutes in 71 games as a rookie with Chilliwack. As of late January this season, he had eight goals and 13 points in 51 games.

The Bruins chose Robinson to serve as captain when Jadon Potter went down with a season-ending injury before the midway mark.

"It was surreal at first, being asked to be a captain at 18, but I've had some experience being captain, in Bantam and Midget Quad, so I didn't change my game. I try to lead by example and say little extra in the dressing room if I feel I need to."