With the 2026 NHL draft complete, the Edmonton Oilers have now added another five prospects to their prospect pipeline. We here at the Oil Rig will be publishing in-depth player profiles for each of Oil Country’s newest additions, while also giving a brief projection of where they fit into the organization’s future.
This iteration looks at OHL defender and the Oilers’ newest fifth-rounder, Andrew Robinson of the Windsor Spitfires. The Oilers acquired Robinson’s pick in the organization’s trade with Tampa Bay which saw the Oilers trade the 52nd overall selection for the 58th and 133rd selections.
Who is Andrew Robinson?
| Position | Handedness | Height | Weight | 2025-26 TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LD | Left | 6’0” | 190lbs | 16:31 |
Robinson’s on-ice production
The Oakville product grew up within the Port Credit Minor Hockey system. From Port Credit, Robinson found his way through the Vaughan Kings AAA system where he was drafted in the third round of the 2024 OHL draft. The defender would then spend most of the 2024–25 season with Georgetown, while earning a call-up to the Spitfires for the playoffs and never looking back.
| Year | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | Playoff GP | Playoff G | Playoff A | Playoff P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | OJHL | Georgetown Raiders | 53 | 3 | 31 | 34 | – | – | – | – |
| 2024-25 | OHL | Windsor Spitfires | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2025-26 | OHL | Windsor Spitfires | 63 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
Robinson has largely been a secondary depth option in his young OHL career, so he has yet to have a true breakout season. Playing in a third-pairing role does not always translate to the scoresheet, but luckily for the 2008-born defender, it has due to sheer mobility and smarts. With the departure of teammates Wyatt Kennedy and Jakub Fibigr this should open up more opportunity.
It would not be a shock if Robinson has a breakout season for the Windsor Spitfire next year.
Robinson’s player profile
Robinson plays the game with the skill set of a capable two-way defender. This skill set prioritizes a high compete level, strong skating fundamentals, and cautious but capable hockey sense. This makes Robinson a positionally smart, engaged, and sound asset in all three zones. He has the skating ability to jump up, but the hockey IQ to employ smart positioning.
The main areas of improvement for the defenceman include increasing his physical play, refining his puck management, and elevating his shooting effectiveness and execution.
In his first full season with the Windsor Spitfires, Robinson was rolled out largely in a depth role as a third-pairing defender and on the second power play unit regularly. Throughout his entire campaign, the two-way defender averaged 16:31 of TOI, with 1:11 on the power play and 0:29 on the penalty kill per game. He was also a puck mover in his 17 shifts, averaging 76 puck touches per game.
Robinson’s strengths
Skating
At the base of Robinson’s game are strong skating mechanics, with good ankle flexion, posture, and clean pivots; Robinson does have full four-way mobility. This four-way mobility is articulated in defensive transition as he pivots and pushes opponents to the outside with ease.
Mechanically, Robinson also incorporates semi-frequent crossovers, a capable stride, and effective stride recovery. All of these elements particularly contribute to his effective space management and lane management on his gap control as opponents have difficulty escaping him.
Offensively, the Oakville product’s skating shines the most in offensive transition, where his offensive instincts anad skating blend seamlessly to allow for frequent activations into space, displaying solid lane creation, route creation, and a consistently above-average rate of acceleration.
All in all the young defenders skating manages space well, can dictate pace, and shows a real potential in more growth as he ages up and eventually makes the jump to the NCAA.
A real determining factor for Robinson’s skating transferability to the pros is whether or not he can amplify his top speed in the coming years. This includes everything from power out of pivots, power generation, and speed manipulation. If the Oilers draftee can add more speed and power, expect the Canadian to be a lethal transitional threat at the AHL and NHL levels.
Hockey sense
Robinson is not a dynamic player at the OHL level, but his hockey sense and IQ could develop nicely as he ages up. From his hockey IQ, play anticipation, and instincts Robinson has a nice base that allows him to quietly control any game that he is in.
Robinson’s hockey IQ shows up through good defensive/offensive habits like identifying open lanes, showing basic creativity, and calmness on the defensive side of the puck. Additionally the Canadian shows good pace manipulation and flashes of higher end spatial awareness that will translate nicely to the next level.
Robinson can draw out pressure and open lanes, and extend time for his teammates on a nightly basis, which shows his overall offensive instincts on activations and awareness alone.
This hockey IQ alone articulate how he has a 24% conversion rate on his lower-than-average 0.43 scoring chances per game.
The defender’s play anticipation is advanced, and this is demonstrated through his acute positioning often always exactly where he needs to be. Among all of his games this past season, Robinson only totalled a 0.29 positional error leading to a goal against, which for a first-year OHLer is certainly a good sign.
Robinson’s play anticipation also hints at quality play reading, best demonstrated through his eight takeaways per game, and when mixed with his positioning, Robinson quite literally can stifle or kill a rush against all on his own.
Robinson’s habits also show through the small things like his constantly active stick, good risk mitigation/awareness attempts in his own zone, and a knack for good defensive and offensive timing in most situations.
Defensively, his IQ, anticipation, and instincts partially explain why he starts 59% of all of his shifts in the defensive zone, as he has the habits, reads, and know-how in all three zones.
The hockey sense also blends seamlessly with Robinson’s knack for passing as his lane ID, pass creativity, and scanning all demonstrate top-notch offensive habits and play-processing ability. The Spitfires defender is also not hurt by a stark 91% pass accuracy on 23 total passes per game, which speaks highly of his offensive execution.
This passing also explains why Robinson is the quarterback of Windsor’s second power play unit.
Compete level
Robinson has got that dawg in him as well, as his skating, senses, and passing are all dependent on his above-average compete level and overall stellar consistency on a shift-by-shift basis. From an above average motor, solid hustle, and a high activation rate, Robinson truly is all over the place on the ice.
Defensively, the fifth-rounder shows a good hustle (especially when out of position), that he blends with a high intensity (despite being outmuscled in most situations in the d-zone), and an overall commitment to defensive pressure exertion (no downside here). His positioning and proactive motor routinely kill opponent breakouts at the Windsor blueline.
Offensively Robinson shows flashes of good play engagement, a high offensive motor, and a willingness to dive deep into the offensive zone to support plays and generate his own version of offensive pressure. This offensive motor is best demonstrated through the sheer fact that Robinson starts 4.2 breakouts a game by himself.
The Windsor defender’s endurnace also stands out. This endurance and commitment are best displayed through Robinson being on the receiving end of nearly six times the hits he dishes out, while only missing five total games this past season. Talk about being battered but not broken.
Robinson’s areas of improvement
Despite the upside, Robinson does have some real limitations, especially around his physicality, rushed puck skills, and lacklustre shooting. Now the good thing is Robinson has no real rush on his development timeline, which means some of these issues can be ironed out across the rest of his OHL and NCAA career.
Physicality
Physically Robinson clearly struggles, from a smaller 5’11” frame that reduces the effectiveness of his defensive play, to lower muscle mass, and limited power generation by a trio of ways.
Robinson struggles on the defensive side of the puck because his frame reduces the effectiveness of his physicality, which relegates him to outside body positioning on opponents, reduced physical/defensive pressure exertion, and stalled board play. The Canadian’s 61% puck battle win rate is largely due to his play anticipation more than effective body positioning, because Robinson often gets pinned with ease to the boards.
The second largest issue for Robinson is a lack of muscle mass, which trickles down to create a less effective hitting form, reduced hit absorption, and overall less power in skating, hitting, and shooting overall.
Puck skills
Robinson has good passing ability and upside, there is no doubting that. It’s when he holds onto the puck for a blink or for extended periods of time that there are major concerns. Robinson is prone to rushing decisions largely because he lacks some confidence in his own play, which can translate to passes into pressure, simplistic decision-making (clears or dumps).
There are also indications that out of limited poise, Robinson will handle the puck straight into opponent pressure, which explains the young defender’s 3.3 giveaways per game.
Shooting
Robinson won’t be an offensive sniper at the next level, and that is completely fine, as it is not his game. That being said, Robinson does struggle with shooting from rigid mechanics. A stiff uninspired release, and low-danger shot selection with an even lower accuracy (50%).
Robinson struggles as a shooter in established offensive zone play with identifying quality shooting lanes, and having the mechanics and power to capitalize on them when he does. These challenges practically explain his low 0.08 goals expected rate, and why Robinson starts just 27% of all shifts in the offensive zone.
His game is more of a puck mover than a finisher anyways.
Robinson’s next steps
Robinson is undoubtedly a longer-term project for the Oilers, as most late-round picks are. Robinson’s development first depends on a breakout season with the Windsor Spitfires next year. The Oakville product should see more opportunity through increased ice time, a spot on the first-unit power play, and higher usage in more key moments.
If Robinson puts up around 40 to 45 points in the 2026–27 campaign, then it could be seen as a successful year offensively. Look for the young defender to be more assertive by driving more plays and being the offensive difference-maker that he has shown flashes of this past season.
Robinson will likely make the full-time jump to the NCAA early by CHL standards in the 2027–28 season to Providence College, where the fifth-rounder has committed to play. Expect the Oilers draftee to play a full four seasons with Providence College before jumping to professional hockey.
Projection with the Oilers
Robinson fits the Beau Akey type of defender that the Oilers are a fan of drafting. The fifth-rounder’s skating is mechanically sound; he can think the game, and is a puck moving defender who is an undeniable asset in all three zones. Robinson should expand his muscle too as he ages up, adding a complementary, more refined physical element to his overall game.
The main question is just how much he can elevate his skating power to be a real burner and cover his defensive tracks at the next level. The Oilers do not have to worry about the young defender for at least five more seasons, which gives them time to wait and see. Expect Robinson to compete for a roster spot with the Oilers in five to six years.
If Robinson improves his puck management and physicality while refining his skating and hockey sense, he could plug into the 7th defender’s role with third-pairing upside if everything goes according to plan.
NHL ETA: over five years
NHL potential: Likely seventh defender but possible top-six defender
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