Meet the Traveling Robins: Tristen on What He Learned From NHL Debut

Remember the Traveling Jagrs? Meet the Traveling Robins.

Tristen Robins made his NHL debut for the San Jose Sharks against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre Monday night.

The Manitoba native had over 40 friends and family in attendance to share the special moment, and many wore Robins jerseys spanning his entire career.

Robins Represented @SanJoseSharks @tristenrobins1 pic.twitter.com/hQkLXDqmnZ

— shane robins (@shanerobins12) April 10, 2023

Tristen’s father Trevor was a back-up goalie for the San Jose Sharks in 1994-95, though he never saw any NHL action. He is seen in this picture in Tristen’s 2020 Sharks Draft jersey. His mother, Shane, is in the front row all the way to the right in the Saskatoon Blades gold jersey.

Following San Jose Sharks’ tradition, Tristen didn’t wear a helmet for his rookie solo lap during warm-ups.

Welcome to the @NHL, Tristen! 👏 pic.twitter.com/7DCyu5lnqE

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 10, 2023

Robins acknowledged his family during warm-ups with a megawatt smile.

Nothing like your first @NHL game in front of the family 🥹 https://t.co/fGXVDUESzk pic.twitter.com/FqD73kvFH2

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 10, 2023

“You can’t put something like that into words,” Robins said after the game. “These people have supported me my whole life, raised me and brought me up, and just having them here for this first night is something very special.”

Robins played 16:25 in his NHL debut, racking up two shots and a -1. His main takeaway?

“Just the pace of play. Everything is a little bit quicker. Defensive zone is a little bit tighter. Making that next step, everything just has to be a little bit quicker, a little bit more dialed in,” the 2020 second-round pick observed.

In 63 games for the San Jose Barracuda this season, his first full pro year, Robins has 17 goals and 21 assists.

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As the summer approaches, it will be interesting to see where Robins’s game is come training camp.

But there are two games left this year: San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn noted that the plan is to play the younger players, like Robins, during the last two games to further evaluate them.