”Time has gone by way too quickly," Mike Blandina had to say reminiscing about how his son, Brandon Blandina, started out in a beginner hockey program at the Air Force academy. A program similar to the structure of the Colorado Rampage little rookie’s, helping players get excited about hockey at the introductory level. Brandon, who now coaches at the Division I for Robert Morris, didn’t have a straight path to Division I hockey and eventually pros, and it was never easy for the Blandina family.

As Mike watched the 18U AAA Rampage playing the Dallas Elite, he commented on how Andrew Sherman helped calm him and Brandon down about playing for the Rampage and eventually moving on to the USHL.

“Andrew [Sherman] was a calming voice to us. I was worried about Brandon’s future in hockey, and Andrew took one look at him and told me “he’s going to be fine”.”

Brandon’s gritty playstyle was attributed to his strong skating and his indomnible will on the ice. A strong defensive-offenseman, Brandon saw a lot of success on the penalty kill and creating opportunities in the d-zone, along with his knack to score gritty goals and create scoring opportunities. Before long Brandon moved on to play a year of prep school hockey before playing in the USHL for the Indiana Ice.

During his time with the Indiana Ice, Brandon was able to tally an impressive 20 points in 58 games and a solid +12 rating. This helped solidify his ability to shut down teams in the D-zone as well as put points on the board. His outstanding play at the USHL level helped Brandon receive the attention of Robert Morris University, and soon after he was Committed to the NCAA Division 1 school. 4 Strong season of the same performance on and off the ice led Brandon forward into opportunities at pro hockey.

His experience with the school had left him with a lasting impression on the game of hockey. Brandon put in the time, stepping on the ice for the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL. Coached at the time by current Rampage Director, Pat Bingham, Brandon had achieved his dreams of playing pro hockey. After a handful of seasons in the ECHL, Brandon has gone back to RMU help other follow the process and achieve their goals and dreams.