Sherbrooke Phoenix forward signs contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

After lighting up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) last season, Sherbrooke Phoenix leading scorer Félix Robert is heading to the American Hockey League (AHL).
Robert recently signed a contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins AHL affiliate hockey team. The 21-year-old dominated the QMJHL in his fourth year putting up career-best numbers.
He finished tied for third in league scoring with 92 points in 46 games after missing time due to a bout with mono. Robert, a native of Lac-Mégantic, is an undrafted free agent. The contract offer vindicated years of proving doubters wrong.
“It’s been a dream for me since I was a kid and I’ve just been working hard for the past four years in the QMJHL just to achieve that goal, so I’m very proud,” he said.
Robert told The Record that rumours had been swirling for about month before the Penguins organization decided to pull the trigger on locking up the 5’8” centre. The AHL presents another challenge, he explained, another mountain to climb.
There’s a lot of unknown, Robert added, because he has grown accustomed to the speed and physicality of the QMJHL. But while he thinks it will take some time to transition into the league, he feels more comfortable now in his abilities as a hockey player.
“I’m going from the older guy to the youngest, but I think I’m more prepared to jump into the AHL than I was to jump into the QMJHL because physically I’m more ready. I’m bigger and I think I’ll adapt well,” said Robert.
Over the last few months, he has spent countless hours doing off-ice exercises with his personal trainer. He just recently made his way back onto the ice with COVID-19 measures loosening up in Quebec.
The goal, according to Robert, is to continue building on his speed, strength and more importantly, his decision making skills. He credits a lot of his success to his now-former Phoenix squad.
“I was doing a lot of training my first two seasons, and I think it’s what made the biggest change,” he said. “My weight went up, it made me stronger, faster and everything was easier on the ice.”
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