Robbie Stucker Completes Minnesota Hockey Cycle

by Jashvina Shah

Like most children from St. Paul, Minn., Robbie Stucker grew up a Gophers fan. He was never a season ticket holder, but as five-years-old was a big fan of soon-to-be Gophers captain Mike Vannelli–whom his mom had taught in kindergarten.

“He was always my favorite player growing up and someone I looked up to when I was younger,” Stucker said.

That was around the same time that Stucker, who grew up playing in his backyard rink, began organized hockey. Many years later Stucker went on to play for Vannelli at St. Thomas Academy. And next season, Stucker will complete his Minnesota hockey circle by lacing up for the Gophers.

The 19-year-old picked his hometown team over Michigan, Notre Dame, Denver and Nebraska-Omaha after reopening his commitment from Colorado College.

“At the time when I first committed, it was the right fit,” Stucker said. “I was close with [assistant coach] Gene Reilly, who’s not there anymore. I have nothing but respect for Colorado College and their coaching staff there. I still think highly of them, but this year the doors opened and my recruitment opened back up. I started over and weighed my options again, and I thought that Minnesota was the best fit for me.”

The 6-foot-3 defenseman currently plays for the Chicago Steel, choosing the USHL over the BCHL. He was drafted by Chicago in the 12th round of last year’s USHL draft, marking the third time he was taken by the league. Waterloo drafted Stucker in 2014 and Central Illinois drafted him in 2016, but he opted to stay in Minnesota high school.

“[Central Illinois] was the team that had my rights when I was going into my senior year, which is when I was going to leave. But I never really, I always knew I wanted to stay in high school and grow as a leader and be a captain of my high school team and just enjoy my last year at home. I’ve had as much success as I could,” Stucker said.

The decision worked for Stucker, who was named a captain his senior season and nearly doubled his career-high of 21 points. The Blue Jackets then drafted Stucker at the end of the season.

“Just being one of the better players on your team can help with your confidence so much, and I think that was probably the biggest part,” Stucker said. “Because if I would have left for the USHL I wouldn’t have been a top guy and I guess just learning how to be the top guy, playing with your friends, being able to live at home, there’s not much that beats high school hockey. I have no regrets at all.”

But just a few years ago, Stucker wasn’t even sure he would play hockey past high school. He grew up a three-sport athlete–baseball in the spring, soccer in the fall and hockey in the winter–and hadn’t picked one.

“Soccer has helped me a lot in how I use my feet on the ice, I think that’s been a huge part of it,” Stucker said. “I can handle pucks off passes that are in my feet. [With] baseball there’s hand-eye coordination. It’s just being an athlete and it’s just a whole other dimension to my game, I’m not just a hockey player. I can make athletic plays on the ice and I just think it overall helped my whole athleticism.”

 

Photo credit: Hickling Images