NHL pick honed skills Down East

Josh Robertson remembered those snowstorms during his five years living in Perry.

“My dad [Rich] dug a pond in our backyard and we used to skate and play hockey on it,” recalled Robertson, who was drafted in the fifth round by the NHL’s Washington Capitals last weekend.

“When it snowed real bad, my brothers [Rich, Matt] and I would use a big piece of plywood to push the snow off it,” added Robertson. “We used the pond all the time. That’s all there was to do.”

The hours Robertson spent on that pond and at the rink in nearby St. Stephen, New Brunswick, were instrumental in his early development.

“We had to drive across the border every Saturday [to St. Stephen]. It was a half-hour drive. But some of the away games were really far,” remembered the 18-year-old Robertson, who played for Canadian teams based in St. Stephen.

When spring would roll around, Robertson and his brothers would replenish their puck supply.

“We would find 30 or 40 pucks next to the pond where the snowbanks had been,” said Robertson, whose family moved to Whitman, Mass., midway through his fourth-grade year.

Like most Maine youngsters, he was a big fan of the University of Maine Black Bears.

“They were like the pro team for us. I remember Paul Kariya. The team that won it all [1992-93] was the one I remember the most. They were good,” said Robertson.

However, beginning with the 2004-2005 season, he will be wearing a Northeastern University uniform.

“I had to choose between Northeastern and Boston University. They both offered me scholarships. I took Northeastern because I felt more comfortable there,” said Robertson.

Did he consider Maine?

“They didn’t really recruit me. They look for older guys. I wanted to be in Boston, anyway,” said the 6-foot, 192-pound Robertson.

He has been to Maine’s Alfond Arena and said he is looking forward to playing there.

“That’s going to be great,” said Robertson, who will play against his distant cousin, Bear center Derek Damon.

Robertson will return for his second and final year at Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., this fall. He will captain the team.

He led the Hornets to the New England Prep School Division II championship this past season with 37 goals and 44 assists in 34 games.

He was chosen the Division II Prep School Player of the Year; first team All-New England and his team’s Most Valuable Player.

He was the 155th player chosen overall in the draft.

“I was happy. I expected to go between the fourth and sixth rounds,” said Robertson.

Prior to receiving a scholarship from Proctor Academy, he racked up 80 goals and 83 assists in 58 games spanning two seasons at Whitman-Hanson High School.

He spent his freshman season at Massachusetts powerhouse Catholic Memorial, skating “third or fourth line” for the eventual Super Eight champion.

He will spend this summer “working with strength and conditioning coach Mike Boyle and, in July, I’m going to Washington for a two-week training camp with them.”

He occasionally returns to Washington County “because, one by one, some of our relatives followed us down there.”

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordarilynews.net.