GBG BLEED BLUE
05-24-2008, 01:23 PM
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/features/blades/story.html?id=7149d0a9-c4e1-4b76-a04e-99bad5e5f666&p=1
Live from Hollywood
Blades prospect has acting background, but is hot for hockey
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008
Long before Saskatoon Blades prospect Jonathon Robinson delivered his first bodycheck, he gave David Schwimmer -- the actor who played Ross in the popular sitcom Friends -- a face full of foot.
Robinson unleashed a couple of kicks, actually. It took a few takes to get it right.
"I was swinging back and forth," Robinson recalled of his slapstick cameo on Friends. "Ross went to get his camera and as he bent down to take a picture of Jennifer (Aniston's character, Rachel,) and the baby, I come up and kick him in the face."
The 14-year-old Californian has carved an eclectic acting resumé so far. He's worked with the stuntman who portrayed Batman, and he tackled one of Will Ferrell's young soccer players in Kicking and Screaming.
He's awaiting word on a part in a Will Smith movie.
Robinson's passion, though, is hockey. He's bound for Saskatoon this weekend to participate in a prospects camp with the team that selected him in the Western Hockey League draft three weeks ago.
"Hockey is the No. 1 thing I'm focused on right now," the affable teenager said Friday while en route to Saskatoon. "There isn't really anything that's as important to me as hockey."
Robinson is not the first Blade connection to the silver screen.
Former Saskatoon forward Tim Preston portrayed Russian hockey star Vladimir Krutov in the 2004 film Miracle, which recounts the United States' unlikely triumph at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. And Ii you pause the hockey scenes in Jean-Claude van Damme's 1995 movie Sudden Death, you might catch a glimpse of former Blades defenceman Grant Jennings.
Robinson, meanwhile, was born into the business. His parents, Rick and Dawn, both have Hollywood pedigrees. Their romance blossomed in the late 1980s on the set of Harlem Nights. Rick worked as a director of photography, while Dawn was Eddie Murphy's assistant.
Jonathon grew up around film sets and wasn't more than a toddler when he landed his first role in a music video directed by his father.
"If you're already in the business, it's natural," said Dawn Robinson, who also worked as a casting director. "Jonathon has always been a very friendly kid, so it just worked out."
Robinson was a competitive BMX racer when he was younger and he graduated to doing some stunt work. Michael Cassidy -- Michael Keaton's stunt double in Batman Returns -- took Robinson under his wing.
"Doing stunts was a natural progression for Jonathon," said his mother. "He's athletic and he doesn't have any fears about jumping off of buildings or riding a bike off of a mountain."
Robinson remains grounded. There's a humility in his tone. Don't be fooled, though; he's supremely serious about proving himself as a hockey player.
"I am extremely excited about this," said Robinson, a member of the Anaheim Ducks bantam team. "I am very glad that I was drafted to the WHL. That has really been my goal since I've been playing hockey."
Robinson started in-line skating at age three, but another three years passed before he tested his stride on ice.
"He fell in love. It's like hockey is his mistress. Any wife he gets is going to have to understand that," his mother said with a chuckle. "Hockey is his thing -- better than BMX, better than snowboarding. He has not stopped (focusing on hockey) since that point."
Doug Molleken, the Blades' head scout, spotted Robinson at a prospects camp in April in Anaheim. Two weeks later, Saskatoon drafted Robinson in the 11th round, 219th overall.
"I liked how he skated, and in the corners he was strong," Molleken said of the 5-foot-10 forward. "They had a hard time taking the puck away from him. He's gotta learn the game a little bit, but I think he's going to be OK."
Dawn Robinson said her family was humbled and excited on draft day.
"My cheeks still hurt. I haven't stopped smiling. My mom (Jonathon's grandmother) wants to move to Saskatoon," she added with a laugh. "I had to figure out how to pronounce it because it was a tongue twister initially, but now we're all about it."
Robinson's father, Rick, is working on a film in the Philippines, so he won't accompany his son to Saskatoon. However, Dawn Robinson said there's no place that Jonathon Robinson would rather be this weekend.
"He's in love with the fact that he's going to Saskatoon."
BLADE BITS: The Blade prospects hit the Schroh Arena ice today at 10:15 a.m. and again Sunday at 11 a.m. . . . The Blades are seeking billets. Host families provide room and board for players, aged 16 to 20, from the middle of August to the end of the season. Billets receive season tickets, plus financial compensation. For information, contact Blades assistant coach David Struch at 975-8844, ext. 29.
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
This article is a very interesting one. If he does indeed make the team. I do not think that will think to highly of the weather in Saskatoon. In California they do not have weather like the good old Saskatchewan winter. On another positive note it looks like he is in Saskatoon for the Spring Camp and that is a very good sign.
Live from Hollywood
Blades prospect has acting background, but is hot for hockey
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008
Long before Saskatoon Blades prospect Jonathon Robinson delivered his first bodycheck, he gave David Schwimmer -- the actor who played Ross in the popular sitcom Friends -- a face full of foot.
Robinson unleashed a couple of kicks, actually. It took a few takes to get it right.
"I was swinging back and forth," Robinson recalled of his slapstick cameo on Friends. "Ross went to get his camera and as he bent down to take a picture of Jennifer (Aniston's character, Rachel,) and the baby, I come up and kick him in the face."
The 14-year-old Californian has carved an eclectic acting resumé so far. He's worked with the stuntman who portrayed Batman, and he tackled one of Will Ferrell's young soccer players in Kicking and Screaming.
He's awaiting word on a part in a Will Smith movie.
Robinson's passion, though, is hockey. He's bound for Saskatoon this weekend to participate in a prospects camp with the team that selected him in the Western Hockey League draft three weeks ago.
"Hockey is the No. 1 thing I'm focused on right now," the affable teenager said Friday while en route to Saskatoon. "There isn't really anything that's as important to me as hockey."
Robinson is not the first Blade connection to the silver screen.
Former Saskatoon forward Tim Preston portrayed Russian hockey star Vladimir Krutov in the 2004 film Miracle, which recounts the United States' unlikely triumph at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. And Ii you pause the hockey scenes in Jean-Claude van Damme's 1995 movie Sudden Death, you might catch a glimpse of former Blades defenceman Grant Jennings.
Robinson, meanwhile, was born into the business. His parents, Rick and Dawn, both have Hollywood pedigrees. Their romance blossomed in the late 1980s on the set of Harlem Nights. Rick worked as a director of photography, while Dawn was Eddie Murphy's assistant.
Jonathon grew up around film sets and wasn't more than a toddler when he landed his first role in a music video directed by his father.
"If you're already in the business, it's natural," said Dawn Robinson, who also worked as a casting director. "Jonathon has always been a very friendly kid, so it just worked out."
Robinson was a competitive BMX racer when he was younger and he graduated to doing some stunt work. Michael Cassidy -- Michael Keaton's stunt double in Batman Returns -- took Robinson under his wing.
"Doing stunts was a natural progression for Jonathon," said his mother. "He's athletic and he doesn't have any fears about jumping off of buildings or riding a bike off of a mountain."
Robinson remains grounded. There's a humility in his tone. Don't be fooled, though; he's supremely serious about proving himself as a hockey player.
"I am extremely excited about this," said Robinson, a member of the Anaheim Ducks bantam team. "I am very glad that I was drafted to the WHL. That has really been my goal since I've been playing hockey."
Robinson started in-line skating at age three, but another three years passed before he tested his stride on ice.
"He fell in love. It's like hockey is his mistress. Any wife he gets is going to have to understand that," his mother said with a chuckle. "Hockey is his thing -- better than BMX, better than snowboarding. He has not stopped (focusing on hockey) since that point."
Doug Molleken, the Blades' head scout, spotted Robinson at a prospects camp in April in Anaheim. Two weeks later, Saskatoon drafted Robinson in the 11th round, 219th overall.
"I liked how he skated, and in the corners he was strong," Molleken said of the 5-foot-10 forward. "They had a hard time taking the puck away from him. He's gotta learn the game a little bit, but I think he's going to be OK."
Dawn Robinson said her family was humbled and excited on draft day.
"My cheeks still hurt. I haven't stopped smiling. My mom (Jonathon's grandmother) wants to move to Saskatoon," she added with a laugh. "I had to figure out how to pronounce it because it was a tongue twister initially, but now we're all about it."
Robinson's father, Rick, is working on a film in the Philippines, so he won't accompany his son to Saskatoon. However, Dawn Robinson said there's no place that Jonathon Robinson would rather be this weekend.
"He's in love with the fact that he's going to Saskatoon."
BLADE BITS: The Blade prospects hit the Schroh Arena ice today at 10:15 a.m. and again Sunday at 11 a.m. . . . The Blades are seeking billets. Host families provide room and board for players, aged 16 to 20, from the middle of August to the end of the season. Billets receive season tickets, plus financial compensation. For information, contact Blades assistant coach David Struch at 975-8844, ext. 29.
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
This article is a very interesting one. If he does indeed make the team. I do not think that will think to highly of the weather in Saskatoon. In California they do not have weather like the good old Saskatchewan winter. On another positive note it looks like he is in Saskatoon for the Spring Camp and that is a very good sign.