A’s beef up back end
The St. Catharines WMKL Athletics are already working on next season.
A’s general manager Jeff Chcoski has pulled off a trade, landing big defender Trent Robertson from the Brampton Excelsiors in exchange for Carson Robbins and a first-round draft pick in 2025.
“It’s kind of the start of what we’re looking to do here,” Chcoski said. “We have a vision as to what we think we need to do to win a national championship and Trent Robertson was kind of one of the top guys on our list that we were looking to get done.”
Robertson, a 20-year-old native of Peterborough, was a first-round selection of the Buffalo Bandits and played in an exhibition game in St. Catharines Saturday at the Meridian Centre.
“He is just a beast of a player. A lot of our guys went to see him here in St. Catharines. He was strong and played well against grown men,” Chcoski said.
A’s coach Steve Toll is thrilled with the acquisition.
“Oh, yeah, definitely. He’s everything we wanted in a D guy,” Toll said. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s tough. He checks a lot of boxes for defensive coaches so we’re really looking forward to having him big time.”
Robertson, who is listed as 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, is ecstatic with the deal.
“I am thrilled. It’s been a long process to go through the Brampton organization and I’ve been with Brampton for three years now, so obviously that was family for a long time,” he said. “But I know a lot of the guys on the A’s and they’re all very welcoming and the coaching staff is just phenomenal.
“We’re all really excited to started in May but we all have an end goal and that’s late August to host the Minto in the hometown of St. Catharines. Losing is just not an option at this point so we’re going to do everything we can in our power to make sure we bring it home to their city and to now to my city as well.”
Robertson was in awe of the crowd of 4,500 at the game Saturday.
“That was an electric time. Saturday night was definitely an eye-opener and I know that when the Minto is going on it’s going to be just as busy,” Roberston said. “So for players that aren’t used to that kind of atmosphere, it’ll definitely be a different change, but all for the better. When I saw that many people I was just super excited. It was my time to perform and I ended up getting an energy boost from it because it was my first time experiencing it.”
Robertson is happy to play the role of enforcer.
“That, yeah, and then transition up the ball and then just kind of just a stay-at-home defender blocking shots and making sure that nothing goes on on the D side. Letting the O guys play so they know that their back is always protected and now just taking my experience with the Bandits and that’s gonna lead back into the summer as well.”
Robertson is still a bit of a long shot to crack the Bandits’ lineup this season due to his age.
“There is some hope of me maybe making the lineup this year, but being 20 years old, I have nothing to lose. I can always keep going back if they are willing to sign me, but being this late in camp already, with cuts already being made, it would be nice to wear their colours,” he said. “If not, we always try again next year after my last year of junior.”
Chcoski said the deal for Robertson is only the beginning.
“I have two or three other things on the go, and again, it’s about winning a national championship, and it’s about making St. Catharines proud,” he said. “It’s daunting, but it’s a challenge we’re all taking on here to get it done. But Trent is the start of it. And there’ll be a few more things that will happen.”
As the host of the 2025 Minto Cup, the A’s have an automatic bye into the tournament. The A’s last won a Minto Cup in 2003. They also hosted in 2001 and won playing out of the Jack Gatecliff Arena. Other Minto Cup championships were won in 1990, 1991, 1950 and 1947.
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