On Tuesday September 29th, the Maine Mariners announced the signing of Canadian forward Mikael Robidoux. The two sides agreed to terms on a standard player contract for the upcoming season. Robidoux only appeared in 11 games in 2019-20. However, he made enough of an impression to sign a contract for 2020-21.
Before Robidoux made the jump pro, the native of La Prairie, Quebec played junior hockey in the QMJHL. He played five seasons in the league, having spent four of them with the Quebec Remparts. He was then traded to the Shawnigan Cataractes where he completed the 2018-19 season. He would start there in 2019-20 before joining the Mariners near the season’s conclusion.
The forward is one of the youngest players in the ECHL. He joined the hockey club in Maine just three months prior to turning 21. Robidoux made his pro debut against the Newfoundland Growlers back on January 10th.
Although he only played in 11 games, Robidoux became very well known by the Mariners fanbase for his physical play style. Before the regular season was cut short, Robidoux saw a pair of fights while also racking up 80 penalty minutes. He’s yet to score his first point at the pro level.
In a statement from Riley Armstrong, assistant GM and head coach of the Mariners, he said of the team’s latest signing, “Robi brings something a lot of the team doesn’t have in this new era of the game. He finishes every check, works hard, and gets under the other team’s skin. Robi needs to work on picking his spots better and controlling his energy and emotion. I would rather have Robi playing for us than against us.”
Mikael Robidoux is the thirteenth player to be signed to the roster for 2020-21. In doing so, he joins three defensemen and nine other forwards. Puck drop for the upcoming season is scheduled to fall on the fourth of December.