Boisson works hard for Uof S Huskies

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At the ripe old age of four, Robbie Boisson took the first step to becoming a hockey player. Today, at 22, that path he started down so many years ago has led him to the hallowed halls of the University of Saskatchewan, where he is now playing his second season with the men's varsity hockey team, the Huskies.

"I'm a checking forward," says the feisty, 5'8" Boisson.

"My role is to go out and work as hard as I can and check the other lines and try and keep the other guys off the scoreboard."

In his rookie season, because the University of Saskatchewan was hosting the University Cup, the Huskies earned a bye into the six-team tournament. He expects the experience to assist him with his leadership of the team for their run for the playoffs this season.

And what was the experience like for Boisson?

"It was a learning experience, really. It was a lot of fun. It was a totally different game, with no red line and stuff, but above all, I just went out and played my game. Nothing really changed."

During the regular season and the majority of the playoffs, the Huskies would play in their on-campus home rink, Rutherford, which can hold a maximum of about four to five hundred people, including standing room. During the University Cup, however, the Huskies' home rink became Saskatchewan Place, a much larger, NHL-sized facility.

One opinion that many people had about the three years the tournament was held in Saskatoon was that the Huskies could not handle either the change in venues or the pressure. Would the fact that the 2001 University Cup - which will be hosted by York University in Ontario this coming March - alleviate the pressure?

"Maybe it will, I'm not really sure," says Boisson.

"There wasn't really too much pressure on us here, it was a hometown crowd. It was a lot of fun to play in front of."

Before coming to the Huskies, Boisson - a young Metis man from Prince Albert - played out his junior career with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Kindersley Klippers. He played both his bantam and AAA hockey careers in his home town, for the Mintos and the Midget Raiders respectively.

The route that Boisson has now taken with his hockey career is one where he is also working towards a degree. Presently, he is enrolled in the College of Arts and Science, and feels that "if you're going to go play hockey somewhere, it's not really guaranteed that you'll play it all your life, so you'll have to have something to fall back on."

Like his on-ice persona - which is that of a smaller player who plays like he's at least a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than anyone else playing on either team - any advice Boisson would offer to young people comes across as hard as any of his shots during a game.

"Just go out and work as hard as you can," says Boisson.

"If you don't cheat yourself, you don't cheat anybody."