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Justin Robidas Scouting Report: 2021 NHL Draft #72

Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2021 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! We have a complete listing of our draft articles here. Today we bring you our Justin Robidas Scouting Report. 

The son of former NHL defenceman Stephane Robidas, Justin Robidas is a forward. His father played for the Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Justin Robidas was drafted second overall by the Val D’or Foreurs in the 2019 QMJHL Draft. Robidas made an instant impact. He scored 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 57 games in his rookie season. Robidas, born in Texas,  also played for Team Canada White at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. This is not an IIHF-sanctioned tournament, so Robidas is still eligible to play for both countries right now.

This past season, Robidas was named an alternate captain for the Foreurs. His offensive game took a big step forward as he scored 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 35 games. Robidas also added three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 14 playoff games. Robidas helped Val D’Or to reach the QMJHL President’s Cup Final. Unfortunately, the Foreurs fell in six games to the Victoriaville Tigres.

In 2018-19 Robidas led Quebec to gold at the Canada Winter Games. He captained the team and scored five goals and five assists for 10 points in six games.

Justin Robidas Scouting Report

Center — shoots Right
Born March 13th, 2003 — Plano, Texas
Height 5’8″ — Weight 173 lbs [173 cm / 78 kg]

Skating

An undersized forward, Robidas has the strong skating that he will need to survive at the pro level given his size deficiency. He has a very good stride. This leads to excellent acceleration and very good top-end speed. Robidas sees open ice and darts towards it, beating his man to those areas of the ice. He also wins races to loose pucks. Robidas is also very shifty. He has excellent agility and edgework. Robidas can turn on a dime and makes lightning-quick changes of direction. This makes him hard to contain both with and without the puck.

Robidas is also solid on his skates for his size. He has a low centre of gravity, giving him excellent balance. This allows him to battle hard for loose pucks as well as win battles along the boards. He also does a good job of winning battles in front of the net. His powerful stride allows him to skate in the dirty areas of the ice as well as fight through checks.

Offensive Game

Robidas marries his good skating ability with excellent stickhandling. He can make plays while moving at top speed and this makes him excellent on the rush. He also generates effective zone entries with his ability to avoid defenders and find open ice in the neutral zone. Robidas controls the puck effectively in the cycle. He is able to fight through checks and work the cycle game. This allows his teammates time to get open. When they do, he is able to find them with a quick pass to set up a scoring chance. Robidas sees the ice extremely well and anticipates his teammates’ movements. His quick hands also allow him to quickly open passing lanes and get the puck to a teammate as well.

Robidas can also play the role of a goal scorer. He is willing to carry the puck to dirty areas of the ice to create offence. Robidas also gets to the front of the net without it. He loves to play the give-and-go, passing to a teammate and then cutting to the net. From there he has the quick hands to elevate the puck quickly and put it in a tight opening. He can also quickly pounce on rebounds and deflect in shots. Robidas has a good wrist shot. It has decent power and is very accurate. He also gets it off quickly with a deceptive release that can fool goaltenders.

Robidas can sometimes try to do too much though. This can lead to him making one too many moves and losing the puck to opponents at times.

Defensive Game

Robidas needs some work in the defensive end of the ice. His size is a real liability, as he has trouble containing bigger forwards on opposing teams in the cycle game. He will need to continue to work on adding muscle to his frame. Robidas also needs to show more consistency in his defensive end. There are shifts where he is engaged, cutting down passing lanes and defending with a high-end motor. There are other times where he is looking to cheat and create offence despite his team not yet having the puck. This may be something that also comes with more maturity and continued coaching. He could also improve in the faceoff circle.

Projection and Comparison

With his excellent bloodlines, skating ability, and ability to create offence, Robidas has a chance to be a top-six forward in the NHL. He plays at centre for Val D’Or but projects as a right-winger going forward. This will give him less responsibility to help out down low in the defensive end. He will need time in the QMJHL and AHL, but the investment could be worth it. Robidas’ creativity could really help on the power play. Robidas game is similar to Robby Fabbri but this is a stylistic comparison only, not one based on skill and ability.

Highlights

The following is a compilation of some of the highlight packages and features of Justin Robidas that are available on youtube as well as Twitter.

https://twitter.com/AIexTaxman/status/1315038953007804417

https://twitter.com/AIexTaxman/status/1307112743196135427

 

Check back later for our latest NHL Draft article.

 

Justin Robidas Scouting Report Main Photo:

Embed from Getty Images

BOISBRIAND, QC – NOVEMBER 24: Justin Robidas #19 of the Val-d’Or Foreurs skates the puck against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the third period at Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau on November 24, 2019 in Boisbriand, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Val-d’Or Foreurs 7-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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