It was new to him a few weeks ago, but now, playing in Finland is just a part of his routine. Gilbert Plains Colby Robak is fitting in nicely in his first season in the Finnish Liiga with Vassan Sport.
Since signing his contract in mid-October, Robak has played in 20 games with the club. He's been productive offensively as well, doing what he needs to from the backend. Robak has nine assists.
"You know, things are really good and I'm starting to feel more settled as the weeks go on," said Robak. "The team is doing pretty well; we're sort of in the middle of the pack. I'm feeling better every day out here."
One of the biggest adjustments Colby has had to get used to is the bigger ice surface. Rinks in North America are 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. Overseas, the surface is 197 feet long and 94.8 feet wide. Colby's had the chance to play 20 games on it already and practice a ton, but, it's something that's still a work in progress.
"I feel like it's going to be an adjustment here for a while, I mean I played eight years of pro hockey in North America," added Robak. "I'm still adjusting for sure. But, at the end of the day, it's still just hockey. It's just about going out there, doing your thing and I think things just work themselves out."
Something that Colby has been able to use to his advantage wherever he's played is his size. Standing in at over 6'3", Colby can use his size to have success, and he's also got speed. Those are two big reasons why the GP native is in his ninth season of professional hockey.
Now that he's playing on a bigger ice surface, Colby knows the way to succeed out there is using his size and speed to transition his team to offence.
"Playing on the bigger surface, I think I've been able to take advantage of the few extra feet that I have out there," added Robak. "I think having size and speed out here has helped me transition to playing in this league."
Off the ice, the Robak's are expecting baby #2 shortly. So if you add up the fact that Colby signed his first overseas contract, recorded his first point, and his second baby is on the way... it's safe to say that it's been a memorable time in Finland for Colby and his family.
"Things have been great in general. My wife isn't really comfortable with moving right now, so we're just going to spend Christmas here and go with the flow," added Robak. "It's been a great experience going through this whole thing with my family. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season, and we'll see how it all goes."
Robak and the team have won four of their last five games. They're back on the ice in a couple days in game action.
