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RALEIGH, N.C. – Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed left-wing Eric Robinson to a four-year contract extension. The deal will pay Robinson an AAV of $1.7 million through the 2028-29 season.

“It’s no surprise to us that Eric had his best professional season last year with Carolina,” said Tulsky. “His size and speed make him an excellent fit for the way we want to play, and we are thrilled that he’s chosen to remain a Hurricane.”

Robinson, 30, notched 32 points (14g, 18a) in 82 regular-season games with Carolina, setting career highs in goals, assists, points, games-played and plus/minus rating (+14). He also added three points (1g, 2a) in 15 playoff appearances with the club. A native of Bellmawr, N.J., Robinson has registered 123 points (54g, 69a) in 388 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Sabres and Hurricanes, as well as four points (2g, 2a) in 25 playoff appearances with Columbus and Carolina. The 6’2”, 211-pound winger also skated in 68 career AHL games with the Cleveland Monsters from 2018-2024, recording 33 points (16g, 17a).

Prior to turning professional, Robinson played four seasons of college hockey at Princeton from 2014-18, earning 67 points (39g, 28a) and captaining the Tigers as a senior in 2017-18. He also played one USHL season with Dubuque in 2013-14, tallying 24 points (8g, 16a) in 50 games. Robinson won a bronze medal with the United States at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, posting three assists in 10 games. He originally signed with Carolina as a free agent on July 1, 2024.

Since the NCAA was founded in 1906, institutions have never directly paid athletes. That will now change with the passing of the House v. NCAA settlement on June 6, ushering in the revenue-sharing era of college sports.

Beginning July 1, schools will be able to share $20.5 million with athletes, with football expected to receive 75%, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of sports (5%). The amount shared in revenue will increase annually.

With this colossal change in the college sports landscape affecting everyone from the top down, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was asked by 105.5 WNSP Friday morning about what this case will do to non-revenue sports. Specifically, Byrne was asked if Alabama would have to discontinue some of those programs at the university.

“We’re gonna try everything we can to have that not be the case,” Byrne said, per Mike Rodak. “We have one team that makes a healthy profit in football. We have one that turns a profit in men’s basketball. However, we have 19 that don’t. Football has been the sport that has historically supported the department, and the investments we’ve made in the young men in our football program I’m very proud of, both from a revenue-sharing standpoint but also what we do holistically with the young men.”

“As far as how many sports we have, it’s a hard model. There’s no doubt about it. But at the same time, too, I believe in the model and I think it’s something worth investing in and we continue to plan to do so here at the University of Alabama.”

Byrne gets into the weeds to discuss Alabama’s plan

Earlier this week, Byrne explained Alabama‘s plan for dividing revenue sharing in the near future. Along with football and men’s basketball, the university supports varsity teams in women’s basketball, baseball, women’s soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country, swimming and diving and track and field.

That’s not all, though. Alabama also supports club sports in crew, cricket, cycling, disc golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, racquetball, rugby, soccer, team handball, tennis, Ultimate, wheelchair basketball, water polo, water skiing and wrestling.

“The House settlement gives us a number, $20.5 million, we’re gonna get in the weeds here a little bit. Every SEC school program has committed to $2.5 million in new scholarships. That gets taken off the 20.5. So that means we have $18 million to work with in rev share, and we as an institution decide how we will distribute that to our teams,” Byrne said.

“We have taken the approach that it’s based off of revenue generation. We think that’s a solid approach and that its one that makes sense for our program. As you’ve heard me say many times, football is the engine that pulls the train. At the same time too, our two sports that turn a profit are football and men’s basketball.

Byrne believes the Crimson Tide are in a good spot

“So they will have the highest percentage of that rev share and then we’re splitting up the remaining dollars with our sports who are ticketed,” Byrne continued. “We have four sports who are ticketed – softball, baseball, gymnastics and women’s basketball. Those are the six sports that will have some type of rev share.”

“I’ve heard all over the yard how schools are doing it, and how many sports. I know one we compete against all the time is only doing three sports. I know that some schools are doing a little bit for everything. I’m not sure how much of a difference that will make at the end of the day when you just carve off a small sliver for a sport, but we have a plan. I’ve told our coaches it’s fluid. We’re doing the best we can to make decisions we are with the information that we have right now.

“I do think we’ve put ourselves in a good position, not only for the individual sports but for the department as a whole to make sure we’re staying healthy long term.”

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.

WALTHAM, Mass. – Tanner Main, an assistant captain with Bentley this past season, has signed with Strasbourg in France2, the second highest professional league in France.

A defenseman, Main was voted Bentley’s Most Improved Player for the 2024-25 season. He was named an assistant captain and played in 35 games with two goals and seven assists as the Falcons lifted the Atlantic Hockey championship trophy. His +11 number was tied for fourth best on the team.

He had four assists in Bentley’s postseason run, with one in each of the first four games.

A native of Welland, Ontario, Main played in 102 games in four seasons at Bentley.

Main is the third member of the 2024-25 Falcons to join a professional team this summer, joining Nick Bochen and Sam Duerr.

The city of Strasbourg is located in eastern France, close to the border with Germany.

Main graduated in May with a degree in finance.

 

BRUNSWICK, Maine — Bowdoin College has announced the six individuals who will be inducted into the 2025 Athletic Hall of Honor class.
 
The honorees will be formally inducted during a ceremony on Saturday, December 6, representing the 16th class of the Hall of Honor.
 
Long-time men’s lacrosse coach Tom McCabe led the Polar Bears for 22 seasons, recording 229 victories and finishing with the most wins of any coach in program history and totaling the 12th most all-time in Division III. In 2012, he was named NESCAC and New England Division III Coach of the Year. His tenure included two ECAC Championships, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
A three-time captain of the Bowdoin wrestling team, Bill Hale ’72, finished his career with a 40-0 record in dual meet competition. A multi-time placer in New England Championships, he was the only Bowdoin wrestler to score at an NCAA Championship (1972), later becoming head coach of the program.
 
Stacey Jones Lee ’00 was a multi-sport star for Bowdoin, earning multiple NESCAC Championships and All-American honors in both indoor and outdoor track & field. She was also a captain of the Polar Bear volleyball team, where she was a four-year starter.
 
The leading scorer in the history of Bowdoin women’s ice hockey, Shelly Chessie Miller ’03 finished her career with 179 points. A two-time First Team All-American, she helped lead Bowdoin to the 2002 NESCAC Championship and a pair of NCAA Division III Final Four appearances while also playing women’s soccer for the Polar Bears. 
 
A native Mainer who helped put Bowdoin women’s basketball on the national map, Kristi Royer Ouellette ’03 finished her career as the second-leading scorer in program history while pacing the Polar Bears to the first three NESCAC Championships in the history of the league. She was a three-time First Team All-NESCAC and All-New England performer in her career.
 
A dominant midfielder on Bowdoin’s first two national championship teams, Julia King ’09 established field hockey program records in single-season and career assists while helping the Polar Bears to four straight NESCAC crowns and back-to-back national titles in 2007 and ’08. A two-time First Team All-American, King was also a key contributor on the women’s ice hockey team and captained both squads as a senior.
 
Established in 2002, the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor was founded to perpetuate the memory of those persons who have brought distinction, honor and excellence to Bowdoin through their accomplishments in athletics. Student-athletes are eligible ten years following their graduation year while coaches/staff are eligible five years after retirement or leaving Bowdoin.
 

by Dan Holland

For Broadview Heights native Ryan Rucinski, a dream of making it to the highest levels of the hockey world began by learning how to ice skate at the tender age of 2. 

“My dad played hockey, and at a young age he got me out on the ice and used to being on skates,” Rucinski, 18, said. “Ever since then, I’ve always loved it.”

He now has his sights set on going pro, as he’s a candidate for the 2025 NHL draft, which will take place June 27-28 in Los Angeles.

A recent high school graduate, Rucinski took online courses through a public school district in the Youngstown area. He attended Padua Franciscan High School during his freshman and sophomore years, then moved to live with a host family in Canfield, Ohio, where he played hockey for the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League during his junior year. 

“I should play [for the Phantoms] for three or four years – depending on what happens – and then go on to college. There’s a chance I’ll go to Ohio State next year, as I’m guessing it will be one more year with Youngstown, and then OSU. But that’s not official.” 

Rucinski committed to playing hockey for the Buckeyes at The Ohio State University on a Division-1 scholarship heading into his junior year, just prior to being drafted by the Phantoms.

But that’s not the only credit Rucinski has to his name. He won a gold medal for Team USA as one of 22 players USA Hockey selected for the 2024 U.S. Junior Select Team that participated in the World Junior A Challenge in Camrose, Alberta, held in December 2024. He scored two goals and had three assists in five games, including a goal in the championship game against Sweden, which aired on the NHL Network. 

As a center for the Phantoms, Rucinski had 42 points in 49 games – 19 goals and 23 assists – along with three goals in three postseason games, as he helped the team win the USHL Eastern Conference title.

Hockey runs in his family, as his dad, Jeff Rucinski, played hockey at Western Michigan University and subsequently played for a number of professional hockey teams, including the Cleveland Lumberjacks in 1998-1999.

Rucinski’s older cousin, Dylan Duke, was drafted in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Another older cousin, Tyler Duke, played hockey his freshman year at Ohio State University before transferring to play at the University of Michigan.

Siblings include brother, Kyle, a sophomore who plays for the varsity/prep hockey team at St. Ignatius High School, along with sisters, Raina – a figure skater – and Ella, who currently plays hockey for the U14 Lady Barons. The Broadview Heights family sets up an outdoor ice rink in its backyard every winter.

National Hockey League Central Scouting ranked Rucinski as the 204^th North American skater in their final 2025 rankings for the NHL draft, set to take place June 27-28.

“There’s a lot that can happen, and not everyone will get picked in the draft,” said Rucinski. “I’m just focusing on trying to get better every day, but if someone calls and I get drafted, that would be great. But I’m not going to get too worked up over that, because even if you don’t get picked, you can still make your way to the NHL.”“Obviously, I would like to be chosen in the draft,” he continued. “But if I can play out my college career, and then hopefully be able to sign a contract with a pro team, that would be my main goal.” 

Photo caption: Ryan Rucinski has his eyes on going pro – possibly during the June 27-28 NHL draft in Los Angeles. The 18-year-old currently plays for the Youngstown Phantoms but has a scholarship to The Ohio State University awaiting him as well. Photo submitted.