Robbie Russo
Robbie Russo | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1993 United States |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenseman |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Playing for Tucson Roadrunners (AHL), drafted by New York Islanders |
Robbie Victor Russo (born February 15, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was chosen by the New York Islanders in the fourth round, 95th overall, during the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Amateur
During the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons, Russo was part of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Serving as captain of the USA Under-18 squad in 2010–11, he finished sixth in team scoring, accumulating four goals and 26 assists across 60 games.
College
Russo began his collegiate career in 2011 at the University of Notre Dame, where he competed for four years with the NCAA Division I Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team. As a freshman, he tallied four goals and 11 assists over 40 games, emerging as the leading freshman defenseman in CCHA scoring. His performance earned him a place on the 2011–12 CCHA All-Rookie Team as well as Notre Dame's rookie of the year accolade.
In his second year, Russo topped Notre Dame defensemen with five goals and 18 assists in 41 contests and ranked second among CCHA defensemen with a total of 23 points. He was honored as CCHA Gladiator Defensive Player of the Week following an impressive series sweep against Michigan and played a key role in Notre Dame's victory at the 2013 CCHA Tournament.
During his junior season, Russo recorded four goals and 11 assists through 21 games before being ruled academically ineligible in January 2014. He was also recognized on the Shillelagh Tournament All-Tournament Team.
In his final collegiate season, Russo amassed 15 goals and 26 assists over 40 games. His total of 15 goals tied for first nationally among defensemen, while his overall point count of 41 ranked second. These figures represented the highest offensive output by a Hockey East defenseman since at least the 2000–01 campaign. Russo earned several weekly distinctions and was selected for the Florida College Hockey Classic All-Tournament Team. On January 18, 2015, he notched the sole hat-trick by any defenseman across the nation that season and was named Hockey East Player of the Week. He was appointed team captain on February 12, 2015.
Following his senior year, Russo received multiple honors including selection to the Hockey East First All-Star Team, East Second-Team All-American, and CCM Hockey All-American recognition. He became only the fifth Notre Dame defenseman to achieve All-America status and the first since Ian Cole in 2009.
Professional
Russo inked a two-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings on August 16, 2015. He earned CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors on February 28, 2016, after contributing two goals, five assists, and a plus-8 rating during an undefeated week (4–0) for the Grand Rapids Griffins. This made him just the second defenseman from the Griffins to receive this distinction.
In the 2015–16 season, Russo posted five goals alongside 34 assists over 65 games and led the league with a plus-47 rating—matching one of the highest marks since 1993. He secured places on both the AHL All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team.
On March 6, 2017, Detroit recalled Russo, who made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 7. Prior to his call-up, he had contributed seven goals and 24 assists in 56 games with Grand Rapids. During that NHL season, Russo appeared in 19 games averaging over sixteen minutes of ice time per contest while providing defensive support through hits and blocked shots. On September 5, 2017, he agreed to a two-year contract extension with Detroit.
Russo was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on June 24, 2018, in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He spent all of the following season with their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, re-signing a one-year two-way contract on June 5, 2019.
After two seasons within Arizona’s system, Russo entered free agency ahead of the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 campaign. Unable to secure an NHL contract at that time, he accepted a professional tryout agreement with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) on January 14, 2021, where he contributed two goals and totaled fifteen points across thirty-four games.
Russo returned to an NHL contract by signing a two-year two-way agreement with the New Jersey Devils on July 29, 2021.
On May 19, 2023, he signed a one-year deal with the Utica Comets (AHL). After three seasons there, Russo re-signed with former AHL club Tucson Roadrunners on a one-year contract dated July 10, 2024.
International competition
Russo served as captain for the United States during the 2011 IIHF U18 Championships, guiding the squad to secure the gold medal. Over six matches, he tallied one goal and seven assists, including a key assist on the overtime winning goal in the championship game against Sweden. His performance earned him recognition as one of Team USA's top three players throughout the tournament.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 34 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 24 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Notre Dame | CCHA | 40 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Notre Dame | CCHA | 41 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Notre Dame | HE | 21 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Notre Dame | HE | 40 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 71 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 42 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | ||
| 2016–17 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 58 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 37 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 22 | ||
| 2016–17 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 75 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 81
| 5 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 | |||||||
| 2018–19 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 67 | 6 | 33 | 39 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 53 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | San Jose Barracuda | AHL | 34 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Utica Comets | AHL | 70 | 3 | 32 | 35 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | Utica Comets | AHL | 72 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Utica Comets | AHL | 69 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 72 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | United States | U17 | Template:Gold1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2011 | United States | U18 | Template:Gold1 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |
| Junior career totals | 12 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 8 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Collegiate | ||
| CCHA All-Rookie Team | 2011–12 | |
| Hockey East First Team All-Star | 2014–15 | |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 2014–15 | |
| CCM Hockey All-American distinction | 2014–15 | |
| Notre Dame Monogram Club Team Most Valuable Player | 2014–15 | |
| Nyrop Award for Defensive Player of the Year | 2014–15 | |
| Professional (AHL) | ||
| All-Rookie Team selection | 2015–16 | |
| Second All-Star Team honoree | 2015–16 | |
| Calder Cup title winner | 2016–17 | |