Senior hockey player Max Robins on the 2022 senior class athletes.
BY LUKE ERIKSEN, ‘22.
There’s only one thing on Max Robins’ mind when he’s on the ice: holding up a massive trophy after winning the frozen four.
There are few hockey players in Columbus with the resume of senior wing Robins, and he is ready to lead the Upper Arlington Golden Bears Ice Hockey team into the playoffs. Last season the bears made the final four, the frozen four.
This season, the bears are off to a solid start with a 16-5 record. Recently winning a holiday tournament in Cleveland, Robins is on pace to surpass the 35 goals he scored last year, already scoring 16 goals this year.
Last year, Robins was recognized as one of the best hockey players in Columbus. He won the ThisWeekNews Columbus Player of The Year and was second team all state. Robins’s role grew even more this year.
“I have a lot more assists this year; I’ve become more of a playmaker than a scorer. That’s just how it panned out. I don’t mind that though. My numbers are just gonna look a little different being a pass first guy,” Robins said.
The bears lost an instrumental senior class, including goalie Garret Alderman, but Robins and his teammates were ready to step up and accept the challenge.
“Garrett was pretty special. I was never nervous when the puck was in our zone.[He] was a strong piece on our defensive side that we lost,” Robins said.
Robins commented on the strength of the 2022 senior class.
“If we get one more [win], then my class will be the winniest class ever,” he said.
A few of the seniors came late, including Carson Gresock and Sam Cannon, as they were playing on the regional championship football team.
“It’s just an immediate energy just having him [Cannon] in the room. He’s a captain. He’s one of our best defenseman, so getting him back boosts everyone’s confidence. Carson was out a little longer with his ankle, but adding him is another boost of energy. He brings physical play and makes us deeper as a team,” Robins said.
Robins also applauded his senior teammate Sam Burns, who moved back to UA during the end of last season.
“I’ve been playing with Burns all year, so he makes my job pretty easy. He’s scored a lot of goals, so we have made a lot of plays together. He’s definitely gotten me my fair share of goals,” Robins said.
With both Cannon and Gresock back for the playoffs, the ice bears are looking to move into the end of the regular season and into the postseason with momentum.
“Our expectation every year is to win our conference tournament, CBJ cup and eventually, the final four. We aren’t going to settle with winning a couple games in the playoffs. We know we are a good enough team, good enough program and good enough coaches that we could win it all,” Robins said.
Robins is determined to finish his hockey career winning the frozen four.
“We have to keep working hard everyday in practice and beat the teams we are supposed to. We need to keep playing hard and not taking any days off,” Robins said.