Projection: Middle Six Upside

Strengths: Shooting Threat, Playmaking, Pace

Development Opportunities: Explosiveness, Consistency

Robinson has been one of the more impressive offensive players in the HEO this season. He leads with pace and handling, always a threat to layer those two abilities to attack the center lane and generate offence. Especially off the rush, Innis can push defenders back on their heels with his speed, giving him the space to walk in and rip a shot or delay and find an open teammate. He is a consistent shooting threat on the power play as well, unleashing powerful shots from the wing of the umbrella that have beaten netminders throughout the year.

Like with many players in this range of my list, Robinson has the potential to be a solid middle of the lineup forward who offers a secondary scoring boost. I think continuing to get more explosive and agile on his feet will be important to ensure he can keep creating separation against elevated competition. A solid pick at this stage of the draft on a player with a real offensive ceiling if it all comes together.

Robinson was yet another Forward on Team White who played well. He played with his usual pace, shifty lateral skating, and handling that enabled him to control play in the offensive zone and set up scoring chances. I thought he did most of his damage controlling play on the outside of the offensive zone, and using quick movements to beat defenders and create lanes to exploit. Mainly as a passer, Innis effectively handled the puck, drew defenders toward him, and slipped passes to teammates on the interior, creating plenty of chances for Team White. He didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but he was often controlling play and making things happen.

Robinson showcased impressive playmaking and offensive creativity in this one. If play was in the offensive zone, chances are Innis was at the heart of things. Especially on the power play, things were often flowing through him, and he was making the right decisions to set up plays. Robinson recorded two primary assists on the man-advantage, both under similar themes of showing patience and some deception on the exterior of the offensive zone to wait for lanes to open up and slip pucks to the scoring areas. He brought his usual non-stop motor and quick puck skills, evading defenders with ease when combining those two elements. While not the best game for the 67s as a whole, I thought Innis played quite well, rightfully earning the first star.

Innis Robinson is a high end smooth skater who combines incredible speed and footwork to carry the puck up the wall in transition, using his puckskills to hold onto it and get past opposing defences to set up in the offensive zone. When there he reads the play well, making slick passes and shots on goal. In this game he got assists on both goals for his team and as a result receives a near perfect score.

Robinson played with pace and explosiveness to his game, consistently driving pucks up ice with a full head of steam. I thought he showed solid attacking habits off the rush, combining quick bursts of speed and slick puck touches to create off rush sequences. Most of his success came off the rush, finding ways to get pucks from the wing to the interior, like on the goal he set up with a nice pass over on a two-on-one to his linemate that capitalized. Robinson also added a powerplay tally in this one, firing home a one-timer from the slot after sneaking into open space to be wide open in the bumper position.

There were a few moments in open ice where Innis exploded forward and blasted through the neutral zone, showcasing his powerful skating ability. These instances were him carrying the puck successfully into the offensive zone, wheeling by defenders with no problem at all. While it’s only a quick little snippet about Robinson, these games were my opportunity to get a baseline assessment of players, and seeing that explosive skating that Innis brought was a good starting part in my evaluation process.

Robinson showcased himself as a good complimentary player who could contribute with an established playmaker and scorer that could take advantage of his contributions on offence. I found his skating a little sluggish in starts and he at times struggled to get himself in good body position but when freed up he could use his size and reach to feast in possession. Has good hands in open ice and net approaches. Fancied him more as a playmaker but he had a respectable shot from distance and showcased his timing around the net with some high quality scoring chances to go with his 3 assists.