Hometown Charlie
The Niagara IceDogs were at the top of Charlie Robertson’s wish list when he found out he might be on the move from the North Bay Battalion.
The 18-year-old goaltender was born in London but attended Ridley College for a year and also has several family members living in St. Catharines, including a pair of brothers and his grandparents, Beth and Tom Rankin of Rankin Construction.
“I was kind of expecting I might be traded but I wasn’t 100 per sure,” Robertson said. “I reached out to my agent and he told me I was going to be on the move and Niagara was one of the options and obviously I was really excited when I got the call. I have lots of family and it’s a great atmosphere. I love Niagara. Playing at Ridley too, I have a bunch of buddies here and I was excited about the news.
“It’s almost like my second home so it’s nice.”
Robertson is looking forward to seeing the Rankin suite at Meridian Centre filled with family.
“They have a box so they’ll be coming to quite a few games. They are on vacation now but I’m excited for them to come watch me often now,” he said.
Robertson, who was acquired with five draft picks in exchange for defenceman Bronson Ride, was having a solid sophomore season in North Bay with a 4-2-3 record and 3.73 goals-against average in 12 games playing behind Winnipeg Jets draft choice Domenic DiVincentiis.
“I knew there was going to be something happening with two goalies in North Bay and Dom’s a very good goaltender as well,” Robertson said.
Robertson had to bide his on the bench after arriving in Niagara as incumbent Owen Flores was playing well and in the midst of a 14-game streak of starting.
Robertson finally got his chance Saturday in the third period of a 7-0 loss to Barrie where he looked sharp kicking out 15 of 16 shots. He made his first start Sunday afternoon in North Bay where he was named the game’s first star after making 34 saves in a 3-1 Niagara win.
“When I got traded I had that game marked on my calendar and I was looking forward to it for the last two weeks,” Robertson said. “I was really excited to get that win and happy I could help the team.”
With the IceDogs only five points out of a playoff position and 28 games remaining, head coach Ben Boudreau is expected to ride the hot hand.
“You go with the goalie that’s going to give you the best chance to win,” Boudreau said. “Sometimes you’re only as good as your last game. Right now Charlie Robertson is as good as it gets with his debut. The one thing when you win a game like that against a pretty good team, you want more of it, and you want to give them the opportunity to give you more of it.”
Expect Flores to continue to see plenty of playing time as well, particularly with a hectic schedule of three games in three nights this week and six games in the first two weeks of February.
“Flores has played so many games in a row and led us to this point where we’re only five points out. We’re getting close and he’s been the guy but when Charlie Robertson steps up like that he gives you competition. Hopefully Flores’ drive goes up to want to be the guy and keep the net. It creates some inner competition which is something I don’t think we’ve had here all season,” Boudreau said.
Roberston isn’t concerning himself with anything other than being ready to play.
“I just go out there and play my game and try my hardest. I’m not going to worry about that too much. I’m just going to do the best I can,” he said.
Robertson, who was drafted in the seventh round (130 overall) by North Bay in 2021, has always played goal.
“It’s pretty stressful, even for parents,” he smiled. “I had lots of older brothers growing up so I got thrown in net and just stuck with it and enjoyed it all the way through.”
Niagara plays host to Brantford (22-12-6-2) Thursday before going on the road to Kingston (20-21-1) Friday and Ottawa (20-17-4) Saturday.
The IceDogs played last weekend shorthanded with 11 forwards and five defencemen, missing Michael Levin, Michael Podolioukh, Mathieu Paris and Andrew Wycisk.
Levin will be back at the end of the month from the 2024 IIHF Hockey U20 World Championship Division III, Group A, in Bulgaria where he is playing for Israel while Boudreau said the others are day-to-day.
“Hope for the best and plan for the worst. We won with 11 and five and are prepared to do the same if we need to,” he said.
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