Warriors Athlete of Week: Warriors Robinson leads Brainerd to state finals

A floor hockey player gets congratulated by a teammate after a goal. — Kaydn Robinson, left, gets congratulated by teammate Cadence Atwater after scoring a goal in the state championship game Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Bloomington Jefferson High School.

By Jeremy Millsop

March 22, 2022 at 8:08 PM

Kadyn Robinson learned from one of the best and he hopes to have trained his successor just as well.

Robinson was a senior captain of the Brainerd Warriors floor hockey team. It’s an honor he cherished and a job he was proud of. He did it well, too, as Robinson led Brainerd to the state championship game Saturday, March 19. The Warriors fell to Dakota United 5-2, but Brainerd finished with a 10-1 overall record and second in state.

“He’s been a leader both on the floor and off the floor and every day in practice,” Brainerd head coach Todd Person said. “He’s there early to help set everything up. He’s just really a caring, polite young man with everyone on the team. He helps his teammates out. He is a wonderful teammate.

“I’d love to say it’s the culture we have with this team. The players see good leaders and they know that’s what they need to do. We’ve been fortunate over the years with the players that we’ve had. We’ve had a couple like Kadyn.”

One of those like Kadyn was his former teammate Matt Allord, who Robinson said he tried to copy.

“I had to learn everyone and talk to each one of them differently,” Robinson said. “You can’t just talk to everybody the same. Everyone learns at a different pace and stuff like that. You just had to push people a little bit differently.

“I liked watching everyone else learn and see how much better they got. I enjoyed talking with them when they didn’t know what they were doing. Like teaching them kind of. Being like the parent of the team and having them look up to me. I talked to Matt about being a captain. He was my captain throughout my whole career. I really looked up to him.”

Robinson opened the state tournament with a goal 45 seconds into the first period as Brainerd went on to defeat St. Paul Humboldt 12-1 in the quarterfinal round. He added two assists in the first period to hand Brainerd a 4-0 lead. Robinson then opened the second period with a goal at the 2:15 mark.

He was a really good communicator out there.

Todd Person

“St. Paul only had five players so I really wasn’t that nervous,” Robinson said. “It was kind of like a rest day. It was awesome being back at state, though. I missed it not being there for the last two years.”

In the Warriors' 9-0 semifinal victory over Anoka, Robinson scored two first-period goals and finished with three total to go with two assists.

“I’m definitely not the best, but I have a really good shot I think,” Robinson said. “Tre’Von (Otey) definitely shoots really hard and Cadence (Atwater), she’s going to come around. She’s going to score a lot of goals next year. Then you have Owen (Olson) and Hunter (Zilka) back next year, so they’re going to score.”

Robinson’s lone goal in the state championship game against Dakota United, handed Brainerd a 2-1 lead before things fell apart and the Warriors suffered their first loss in 65 straight games. It was Robinson’s first loss ever in a Brainerd Warriors floor hockey uniform.

“In that finals game, he was just in a lot of pain,” Person said. “At one point he was hit on the side of the boards and cramped up pretty bad so the trainer had to stretch out his legs. He fought through that to go back in. He certainly didn’t want to quit. It was a rough final game, but he gave absolutely everything he had out there.”

Robinson said his goal was to secure Brainerd’s fourth straight state title.

A floor hockey player takes a shot — Brainerd senior Kadyn Robinson takes a shot during the state floor hockey championship game Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Bloomington Jefferson High School.

“We were trying to get the state championship, but it didn’t really work out,” He said. “We had seven players basically so we had one sub so it wasn’t really set up for us to win this year. (Dakota) had 17 players coming in and out.

“During the regular season, it wasn’t really difficult, because the teams we played against we worked really well against them. We talked a lot and we understood each other. So we would pass the puck around and get quick goals and we were able to make it happen most of the time.”

Robinson entered the state tournament as Brainerd’s second-leading scorer. He posted 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points, which matched fellow starter Cadence Atwater and trailed only Otey’s 35 total points

He enjoyed three five-goal games during the Warriors' 8-0 regular season.

“He works hard and he puts himself in good spots and he’s not afraid to go down in front of the net.” Person said. “He crashes the net and looks for those loose pucks. That’s where he shines. He’s aggressive and is looking to score.”

Robinson joined the Warriors as a freshman and picked up the game quickly.

Along with being a captain, Robinson’s role during games changed as well. Because of injuries, Robinson would often find himself playing the wheelchair defender spot. Person said Robinson handed that adjustment well, too.

“When he was able to play up a little bit more he would let us know and things like that,” Person added. “But anytime he was on the floor, we were better off. Just with some of the younger players we had, when he was out there he was always making sure people were in the right spots for faceoffs and other positioning stuff. He was a really good communicator out there.”

On the floor or off, Robinson’s presence was felt even when he wasn’t playing. He was just always trying to be a good leader.

“Kadyn has fought through injuries this year,” Person said. “Even when he was hurt he was still at practice even though he couldn’t practice. He was still there to help out and support. Those are things he wouldn't have needed to do. We knew he was struggling with some things, but he chose to be there anyway and that’s great.

“We are going to miss him. He’s just a wonderful young man.”

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

Other notable performances

Owen Olson, adapted floor hockey, finished with three goals and six assists during the state tournament.

Cadence Atwater, adapted floor hockey, finished with two goals and four assists during the state tournament.

Caleb Keran, adapted floor hockey, finished with two goals and two assists during the state tournament.

Hunter Zilka, adapted floor hockey, finished with five goals and four assists during the state tournament.

Tre’Von Otey, adapted floor hockey, finished with four goals and an assist during the state tournament.

Andrew Kargel, adapted floor hockey, finished with 17 saves and allowed just six goals. Also posted his first career shutout in the state semifinal game.