Editor In Leaf
Fansided

The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Let Nick Robertson Play in WJC

By Stephen Nixon

OSHAWA, ON - JANUARY 12: Nick Robertson #16 of the Peterborough Petes shoots the puck during an OHL game against the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre on January 12, 2020 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OSHAWA, ON - JANUARY 12: Nick Robertson #16 of the Peterborough Petes shoots the puck during an OHL game against the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre on January 12, 2020 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

It doesn’t look like Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson will be joining Team USA at the World Junior Hockey Championships this year.

Although many Toronto Maple Leafs fans cheer for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships (WJC) every year, a lot of people were excited to follow Team USA because of Nick Robertson.

However, it now looks like the star prospect will be at home during the WJC, instead of dominating junior hockey’s greatest showcase. TSN’s Bob McKenzie talked about Robertson’s situation on Twitter earlier this week (see tweet below).

As everyone knows, this is a weird year. Typically the WJC would take place roughly 30 games into an NHL season and then we’d all know whether or not Robertson was a full-time NHLer by then. However, at this point, we have no idea what to expect from him.

If I look at the Toronto Maple Leafs roster right now, it’s tough to guarantee Robertson a spot in the line-up. As a 19-year-old rookie, I’d much rather see him play more minutes than stuck on the fourth line. Although the NHL is the best league in the world, playing seven minutes a night isn’t beneficial, either.

Leafs Should Let Robertson Play at WJC

With the uncertainty of being an everyday NHLer, I think it would be best for the Toronto Maple Leafs to let Robertson dominate the WJC. There are obviously a few negatives, but I don’t think they outweigh the positives.

Negatives: 

  1. Contracting Covid-19
  2. Getting Injured
  3. Having to Quarantine after Tournament

Positives:

  1. Dominating the tournament
  2. Helping his team win a Gold Medal
  3. Gain confidence leading into the Leafs season
  4. Have real game experience prior to joining the Leafs

If Robertson helped lead Team USA to a Gold Medal, their last game would be January 5. Even if he had to immediately quarantine for 14 days in order to join the Leafs, he’d only be six days late to their scheduled January 13 start date. That’s only three games, max.

The Leafs have more than enough wingers to get by for the first few games and his impact wouldn’t be missed that much in such a short-span.

Having the opportunity to represent your country and dominate the WJC is something that Robertson will never get to do again. I know the Leafs have the right to deny him from this event because of how it could effect his regular season, but they should let him play.

Joining Team USA would give him a ton of confidence and it would help him get into game-shape. I’m sure he’s been training like an animal all off-season, but game-shape is way different than gym-shape. He could use the WJC as stepping-stone towards his NHL career.

Who cares if he ends up missing training camp and a few regular season games. The competition at the WJC is strong enough that it’ll be the same as training camp.

Next. Another P.K. Subban Rumor. dark

It’ll definitely disappointing if we can’t watch Robertson at the best junior tournament in the world, but at least this means we’ll get to see him in a Leafs jersey again soon.

Home/Maple Leafs News