Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

Robbie Bina


amn5hol

Recommended Posts

http://www.journalstar.com/sports.php?story_id=37378

"Stars defenseman Robbie Bina will play college hockey at North Dakota next season. Bina, a native of Grand Forks, N.D., accepted a scholarship offer from Sioux coaches following Lincoln's 4-1 victory in game two on Friday."

He's a really nice kid and should be a great addition to the Sioux. He doesn't have great size, but shows a lot of heart and has really improved his game this year. My impression is that he is a Chad Mazurak type of defenseman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5' 7" 170 lbs. 34 games, 4-9-13, +7 Jan 83 birthdate.

I guess a local boy comes home. Anybody have any idea of his strengths? He's obviously not a big guy.

This makes me wonder if the Hale leaving rumors are in fact true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess a local boy comes home.  Anybody have any idea of his strengths?  He's obviously not a big guy.

I've seen him play once, in high school. Very small, but obviously the best dman on the ice at that level (which wasn't a good indicator, they were playing Minot). Noone got by him, and he usually planted them on their backside when they tried. Surprisingly strong for his size, and very solid on his skates (again, considering the level of play). Was also very good at handling and moving the puck. He was the strength of the GF team at the game I saw, imo. I think he would have been a frosh or soph in HS at the time. Long jump to DI college, obviously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Robbie is a talented defenseman, we only got him for part of the season due to injury. But he has impressed the fans and the coaches while he was here. It might take him a while to get acclimated to the higher level of College hockey but he's shown he can play up to the competition.

Siouxrock, would you care to elaborate on why you claim Robbie is a dirty player? I'm going to assume you aren't speaking of his personal hygiene. You have stated that he is a dirty player twice with out any explanation. In 29 games he has 34 PIMs which isn't really that high for a defenseman, plus 5 of those was a fight were he did a pretty good job of taking care of business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well I don't know about that, but that is not the case while he's been here in Lincoln. I don't suppose you'd care to divulge which players were injured?

Or at least the circumstances surrounding the injuries.

But I still stand by my belief that Robbie is a skilled defenseman who will be an asset to UND.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is size really that important if the player has skill? I know of players who are 6 ft + who have the size but not the skill. I guess I'm not a huge proponent of the Barry Melrose school of coaching "You can't teach size" I'd rather have a smaller highly skilled player than a big marginally skilled player. So in summary Robbie is a small dirty player who played for GFC, so that is why he shouldn't play for UND? I guess we'll have to see how he adjusts to college hockey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I and I'm sure others have noticed is SR doesn't want any players who attended GFC to play for UND. So where should they play? Is UND a state university? I'm guessing it is, so why shouldn't a kid who grew up in Grand Forks play for the Fighting Sioux? Or is there something I'm missing? I would think it would be an honor to have a hometown kid play for UND?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to Red River as well way back in the day and, sure, held a bit of a grudge at the time against the school on the other side of the train tracks, BUT....let's not forget that the Panzer boys were also from GFC. All I can say is, if they come to UND and have the skills to help us the Sioux win, I don't care where they come from....suit them the hell up. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

size is impotant for a D

how many 5 10 guys do u see at D in the NHL

None (as far as I know, the closest is Lubomir Sekaras of the Wild...he's 6-0 about 187 pounds...correct me if I am wrong). The college game isn't as physical as the pro game, Bina can do just fine in college, but I think he will have to be a forward to make it in the NHL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

None (as far as I know, the closest is Lubomir Sekaras of the Wild...he's 6-0 about 187 pounds...correct me if I am wrong). The college game isn't as physical as the pro game, Bina can do just fine in college, but I think he will have to be a forward to make it in the NHL.

North Star fan, your clouding the issue with facts. However, you bring up a very good point. Size isn't alway a precurser for playing in the NHL. Actually I would say there are a few on the Wild team that aren't all that big, Wes Walz, Marion Gaborik (sp) Richard Park, but their contributions to their teams are hugh.

If the Bina that signed with the Sioux is related to the other Binas that have come before him he will be a hard nosed tough defenseman, but not dirty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

look at goehring (sp?). he was small - and awesome.

Yeah, but his job generally didn't involve hitting guys and getting hit. If he can do the job fine, more power to him. However, Leinweber wasn't really an impact player on D, and he's a bit bigger than Bina.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

North Star fan, your clouding the issue with facts. However, you bring up a very good point. Size isn't alway a precurser for playing in the NHL. Actually I would say there are a few on the Wild team that aren't all that big, Wes Walz, Marion Gaborik (sp) Richard Park, but their contributions to their teams are hugh.

If the Bina that signed with the Sioux is related to the other Binas that have come before him he will be a hard nosed tough defenseman, but not dirty.

Again I will have to clarify what I was trying to say. I was talking defensmen, not forwards. Marian Gaborik is 6-1, 185 by the way. However, Wes Walz is 5-10, 180 and Brian Gionta is 5-7, 175, and they have made a big impact with the Wild and Devils, respectively. If Bina is as good a puck handler as they say he is then he shouldn't have a problem with the transition at forward. I'll find out who the smallest Defenseman is in the NHL, then we'll see. As of right now though, I believe it is Sekaras.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The discussion about size for defensemen in the NHL is not relevant to a discussion about size in college. Murray Baron had a defensive partner named Russ Parent, who was very small and very good. Parent was 1st team all WCHA and an All-American and was far superior to Baron in college. However, because the pro game consists of 82 games, is more physical, is played on standard sized ice and is not called as closely, Baron was able to have a long and successful pro career while Parent never got a sniff. The same can be said about Curtis Murphy, Mike Crowley and Larry Olimb, who dominated in college and were skill-wise far superior to many larger college players who have played in the NHL (The big dude from Michigan Tech comes to mind who was horrible in college. There was also the football player from UND who played one WCHA game)

Chris Leinweber did struggle, but that was because of many factors, among them that he was not very strong or physical. The same is true of many forwards, but it did affect David Hoogsteen (5'7" 140 lbs) or Jeff Panzer. If Bina has the skills, he will do just fine in college. He may not make it to the NHL, but who cares?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The same can be said about Curtis Murphy, Mike Crowley and Larry Olimb, who dominated in college and were skill-wise far superior to many larger college players who have played in the NHL (The big dude from Michigan Tech comes to mind who was horrible in college. There was also the football player from UND who played one WCHA game)

The big dude was Andy Sutton who was traded this year from the Wild to the Thrashers. After watching him play for Tech, how he is in the NHL is beyond me? That guy simply could not skate!

Jay Caulfield was the football player who played one hockey game for UND and then spent several years with the Penguins in the NHL as an enforcer. Of note, he was the personal trainer that got Mario back into gameshape when he made his most recent comeback.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...