Burrell, Hashimoto lead club on way to nationals
Size does not matter.
Just ask 5-foot-9 Robert Hashimoto, the Utah State hockey club’s star forward.
“No, size does not matter,” Hashimoto says very clearly when asked.
Hashimoto, or “Hashi” as the fans refer to him, is showing everyone who watches that hockey players don’t have to be 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds to be good.
Hashimoto grew up in Los Angeles, Calif. He started ice skating when he was 5.
“I just wanted to follow my older brother,” he said. “He played hockey so you know how it is. But he’s a joke now. I am a better player than him.”
Hashimoto and Aaron Burrell are on the same line and have fed off each other all year long.
“Burrell is a great player,” Hashimoto said. “He’s got size and skill. He’s awesome.”
One of the high points of Burrell’s career came Feb. 6 in a game against Colorado where he scored his 159th career goal for USU, breaking the previous record of 158 set by Nate Anderson.
“It makes me smile every time I hear it,” Burrell said. “It makes me pretty proud, I guess.”
Burrell said he thinks he’ll hold the record only until Hashimoto is a senior.
“I doubt that [I’ll break the goals record],” Hashimoto said. “He has too many goals. I’m going to be here for three more years so we’ll see what happens. If he thinks I’m going to break it, then he’ll come back for a sixth season.”
Burrell grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where hockey is an everyday part of life.
“Being up there [in Canada], it’s like you don’t have any friends unless you play hockey,” Burrell said. “So it’s self-survival.”
He heard about USU when his parents moved to Layton. He decided to go to USU instead of Weber State because he had many friends that were already Aggies.
The dynamic duo of Hashimoto and Burrell has given the Aggies energy this season when they have needed it.
“It’s easier to get motivated and skate hard when you’ve got a guy like Hashi who’s busting his butt every play,” Burrell said. “He motivates me to skate hard and to get the puck to him and I’m sure I do the same for him.”
The two almost seem to take turns at scoring and assisting. On Feb. 14, Hashimoto scored three goals – all three coming off assists from Burrell. The two switched roles less than a week later on Feb. 20 when Burrell scored four goals, with two of them coming off assists from Hashimoto.
“He’s always hooking me up,” Hashi said of Burrell. “I always try to hook him back. It’s a mutual thing.”
One doesn’t have to know either of these two to see the chemistry between them on the ice.
“It’s nice when you can give the guy the puck and you know he’s going to bury it every time you give it to him,” Burrell said.
The duo will definitely give the Aggies what they need to compete at nationals next week.
“We’re definitely not carrying [the team into nationals],” Burrell said. “I think we’re a couple of leaders on this team. If we come out and skate hard the rest of the team will follow us and have our backs and skate their butts off, too.”
Win or lose at nationals, Hashimoto and Burrell have given USU something special this season. There are very few teams in the country at their level that can boast a set of forwards like these two.
Even if one of them isn’t very big, Burrell and Hashimoto are a big reason why USU is going to nationals.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu