Sept. 8, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Head Coach Guy Gadowsky and the Penn State men's ice hockey team announced earlier today that junior James Robinson (Cochrane, Alb.) will join senior classmates David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) and Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) as captains on the 2016-17 roster.
"We are very proud of the quality of captains we've had in this program since our staff has arrived to Penn State and are confident that these three will certainly carry on that tradition," commented Gadowsky.
Goodwin will don the `C' while both Robinson and DeRosa will serve as alternate captains when the puck drops in October. All three players will be receiving their first letters as a part of this program.
"[David, Ricky and James] have a high level of character and hockey IQ, and have also had the added experience of building upon the values of former student-athlete captains like David Glen, Patrick Koudys, Tommy Olczyk, and Dan Louks."
Goodwin becomes the fourth Nittany Lion in the varsity era to be named team captain, following Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.), Patrick Koudys (Smithville, Ont.) and David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alb.). The senior has been in the top two on the team in scoring each of the past three seasons including leading the team in 2015-16 with 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists.
He currently ranks first on the all-time scoring list with 90 points and 57 helpers while his 33 goals are good for third. His 90 points is also good for eighth among active players in all of college hockey.
"David Goodwin has always been a highly intelligent player who has consistently generated offense on whatever line he has played on," mentioned Gadowsky. "Equally impressive is that David has worked extremely hard to improve his individual battles to become one of the team's top performers in that area."
A back-to-back Big Ten Honorable Mention the Des Peres, Missouri native has skated in 108 games for the Blue and White over his first three seasons and has also excelled in the classroom earning Academic All-Big Ten honors following his sophomore and junior campaigns. "I feel very honored and privileged to be selected as the captain of this team," noted Goodwin. "I am looking forward to leading this team in what should be a very special year for Penn State hockey."
DeRosa, a fellow senior, has also been a constant on the ice for Penn State seeing time in 101 games while scoring 14 goals and adding 16 assists for 30 points in his career. DeRosa too has been honored by the Big Ten for his academic prowess earning a spot on the All-Big Ten Academic squad the past two seasons.
"Ricky DeRosa is a tough competitor who is extremely hard to play against," stated Gadowsky. "He's always exhibited a tremendous level of work ethic and, like Goodwin, has worked extremely hard to become one of the team's leaders in individual battles."
Robinson had to watch last season from the bench after being injured on opening night. So, being voted a captain shows just how much faith his teammates have for him to help guide them this season. Joining his fellow captains, the junior was also named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2015-16.
"To still be selected by his teammates as a captain after playing just a single game last season is extremely impressive," said Gadowsky. "It's a great testament to his level of work ethic on and off the ice, and to his commitment to Penn State and our hockey program."
The Nittany Lions kick-off their 2016-17 slate with the International Game against Queen's (Ontario) on Oct. 2 inside Pegula Ice Arena at 1 p.m. before welcoming St. Lawrence to Hockey Valley for a two-game set on Oct. 6-7 at 7 p.m.