“I thought I could recover last summer from my injury suffered in the playoffs with the Remparts,” Justin Robidas recalled during the Pif Classic Champions Game, presented Wednesday night and won by the Phoenix/Cantonniers team. “I finished the playoffs with a splint. I didn’t have any MRI scans. Because I didn’t really want to know what was going on in my shoulder. But at camp, I felt it again. I started the year in the ECHL and in the fifteenth game, I started to feel pain again until I stopped, after 32 games.”
Stéphane Robidas and his son Justin played for the Pif personalities team during the Champions Match, won by the Phoenix/Cantonniers team. (Simon Rancourt/Classic Pif)
The former Magog Cantonniers player still amassed 27 points, including 12 goals, in the American League in his first season with the Norfolk Admirals despite his long absence.
“I had a five or six month recovery and I’m now over five months in. I’m leaving for Carolina on July 7. I’m going to go see the doctors to do some tests and skate a little while testing my shoulder.”
His most loyal supporter? Stéphane Robidas.
“I watched all his games, but not always live, which allowed me to only watch his presence on the ice. I am very proud of him. It is often unknown when you start in the pros and he had to deal with an injury suffered with the Quebec Remparts and he dragged this injury around for a long time. He tried to treat it with treatments, but he injured himself once again and it required surgery this time. Now, he is skating, he is even able to make one-timers. The timing was good because he can do everything on the ice right now just before reporting to camp.”
Stéphane Robidas was therefore in the front row for his son’s fitness.
“For over a month, we’ve been skating together, just him and me. It allowed me to spend time with him, I appreciate these moments! We were able to practice things together and we also started the CCM Academy recently. Then he’ll head back to Carolina for camp.”
Justin Robidas was able to play 32 professional games before his surgery in his first season. (Norfolk Admirals)
What best does he wish for his boy?
“Starting out as a pro is an adjustment. There’s no more board, he lived in a house with four other players, the guys are older than in junior, they have the same discipline, but the coaching is different, they play three games in three days every weekend. It’s demanding with all the training. But what I wish for him is just to have fun. It’s a cliché, but you have to be yourself, work hard, make your place. You can’t distort yourself. Every player is different, but Justin has to stay focused on what he has to do without thinking about external elements, like the media, the call-ups and all those distractions that have to be eliminated.”
Justin Robidas now wants to make his place with the Hurricanes’ farm club.
“Now the Hurricanes have signed with the Chicago Wolves as their affiliate and last year there was no team directly attached to the American League, it was more difficult to get called up and play in the AHL, but the Hurricanes are now tied to Chicago for three years and a new chapter begins. I’m happy and excited to come back to the game.”
The next few months will serve as an adaptation once again for Justin Robidas.
“It’s been a long time since I played a game. Since January in fact. I will have to adjust again, but the camp will allow me to get back into the rhythm. I go back to zero. I want to prove myself. I healed my wound, I’m starting fresh. I still have a lot of hockey to play, a lot to offer and I’m working hard in the gym. I was able to take advantage of this to make some video and I will be ready for camp. We’ll see what happens next. I experienced my baptism. The ECHL is not easy either. It’s old school hockey, with big, sturdy players and goons. It’s an adjustment and I’m glad I had this first year.”
“I had time to think a lot and realize things,” continues Justin Robidas. “I’ve experienced great things in the last few years, I’ve become aware of it and I’ve even played four preparatory games with guys like Filip Forbserg, Ryan O’Reilly, Nikita Kucherov and Aleksander Barkov.”
The Carolina Hurricanes also have several good players and believed they had a chance for the Stanley Cup. But destiny decided otherwise.
“The Hurricanes really have a nice lineup,” notes the 5th round pick in 2021. “But it’s all about the details I think in this case. Everything has to be aligned to win in the National League. I believed in my organization’s chances, the Hurricanes too. I can’t wait to see the next moves, with the new general manager Eric Tulsky,” summarizes Robidas.
