If you want a telling statistic to explain how important Brian Robbins is to the Capital District Selects, look no further than saves made.
Robbins made 1,184 saves through 30 games. That was exactly 401 saves more than the second-place goaltender in the saves statistic, Springfield’s Courtney Lockwood after Jan. 16.
Through sheer volume of shots, it’s easier to appreciate the 1991-born Robbins’ .884 save percentage as quite good, even if it places him 20th in that category.
“Brian is playing outstanding,” said Selects general manager and Jr. A head coach Jim Salfi of his All-Star goalie from Scotrun, Pa. “He put on an unbelievable show against the Boston Jr. Bruins [on Jan. 16, 56 saves on 60 shots]. I couldn’t believe the saves he was making, some which were point-blank. We were in that game to the end only because of him.”
Salfi still finds it hard to believe that Robbins hasn’t been given the opportunity to choose his Division 1 college destination. Last year, Robbins finished with a .920 save percentage after making 1,352 saves (leading the league in that category in 2009-10 as well). As you can figure out by now, the Selects have had a young, inexperienced defense corps for two years in a row.
“The shots are really tough. He’s making a lot of great saves,” said Salfi. “Somewhere down the line, something will break for him. He’s already getting calls from Canadian junior teams, they all want him up there. I think he’s ready for college. Someone will grab him. He’s a great kid with a great attitude.”
During the Jan. 17 Eastern Junior Hockey League All-Star Game, Robbins gave up only one goal in his portion of the game, one which ended in a 7-5 win for his North team. Salfi compares Robbins favorably to former Selects goalie David Leggio, now playing for the Portland Pirates, the top minor league affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.
“They’re both fierce competitors. Brian is quiet, does his job, works hard, never wants to take a day off,” said Salfi. “He’s just a dedicated guy. He and Zack Cavallini are our two sure Division 1 guys at this point.”
Cavallini, son of former NHL player Paul Cavallini, is considered by Salfi to be a great stickhandler with great speed and is good in battles for the puck.
“You can’t teach skills like he has,” said Salfi. “You see guys committing who are sophomores in high school, but this guy played juniors in Canada and he’s now in the EJHL. He kills penalties, he’s our top scorer. When we play the top teams, he’s not out of place on the ice.”
Zack Cavallini had 21 points through 30 games, including 13 goals, representing 17 percent of his team’s total output of 77 through 30 games.
“Even if coaches don’t think he’s ready for next year, this is a player who has great bloodlines – his father Paul and uncle Gino Cavallini both played in the NHL – and he’s a good student who wants to be a doctor,” said Salfi. “He’s still growing, and his dad was about 6 feet, and his uncle Gino was over 6 feet and well over 200 pounds. Zack’s mother was a Canadian Olympian as well. Look at the genes and athletic ability.
“I’ve been around the game a long time. I don’t know what [coaches] look at sometimes,” Salfi added. “It’s just like with Leggio – I kept telling people he’s a Division 1 goalie.”
Leggio ended up winning the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Year Award with Clarkson University in 2006-07 before turning pro in 2008.
Late additions: Two newer members of the Selects have done well for the team since joining after the start of the season.
Derrek Schartz is a 1992-born player out of Plano, Texas, who joined the Selects in December.
“He got accepted early-decision to Tufts University, so he’ll join our two other guys at Tufts right now [Evan Story and Igor Fedorov],” said Salfi. “With his kind of grades, he was going to be a NESCAC or Ivy League student, and he’s getting better and better [hockey-wise], as well.”
Schartz had three assists in his nine games, while 1991-born Californian Kyle Herring had two assists against Springfield in his second game on Jan. 11.
“Kyle was on our Jr. B team in the Empire League,” said Salfi. “He is a very aggressive kid and he’s on a learning curve right now. He’s a physical player. We have him a shot, he played pretty well and we’ll keep him up with the Jr. A team.”
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