Darcy Robinson was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

/Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenseman who was a former Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

 draft pick. Robinson split four seasons between the AHL and ECHL, playing for both Pittsburgh Penguins' affiliates in Wilkes-Barre

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza...

 and Wheeling

Wheeling Nailers

The Wheeling Nailers are an ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL....

 before joining HC Asiago in 2005.

Death

Robinson started his third season with Asiago HC on September 27, 2007. Less than 3 1/2 minutes into the opening game of the 2007-08 Serie A season vs Ritten-Renon, Robinson collapsed to the ice without being hit, suffering a heart attack. He was pronounced dead before he reached the hospital. The team was informed of Robinson's death with less than 8 minutes left in the game, and the game was suspended. At the time of his death, Robinson was 26 years old.

Serie A would later cancel all of the scheduled games the following night, postponed the match between between Asiago and Pontebba two nights later, and all of the games scheduled on the upcoming weekend. The ANSA news agency reported Friday the local prosecutor's office has opened an official inquiry into Robinson's death.

It was later discovered that Robinson had a rare heart condition that factored into his heart attack.

Personal

Robinson held dual citizenship as an Italian/Canadian at the time of his death and was looking to qualify for the Italian national hockey team.

Robinson was one of several members of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to be featured in the documentary "Chasing The Dream".

Awards

• 2001 - Winner, Ed Chynoweth Cup (Red Deer Rebels
  Red Deer Rebels
  The Red Deer Rebels are a Western Hockey League junior ice hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. They play their home games at the ENMAX Centrium....
  
  )
• 2001 - Winner, Memorial Cup
  Memorial Cup
  The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
  
   (Red Deer Rebels)

External links