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Toronto Maple Leafs: Robertson Given Opportunity in Hyman’s Absence

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 13: Nick Robertson #89 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 13, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Flames defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 13: Nick Robertson #89 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 13, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Flames defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman suffered an injury on Sunday night that will leave him out of the lineup for a minimum of two weeks.

Since the Toronto Maple Leafs are in first place in the North Division and are guaranteed a playoff spot, there’s no rush to bring Hyman back during the regular season. Instead, the team has the luxury to wait until he’s 100 percent healthy, with hopes that he’ll be ready for the start of the playoffs.

Hyman is impossible to replace, but fortunately for Leafs fans, they have one of the deepest depth charts in all of hockey. One player who was highly-touted heading into the season, but ended up getting lost in the shuffle is Nick Robertson.

After making the team out of camp and getting an opportunity to play right away, Robertson got injured, which forced him out of the lineup for a few months. Once he was cleared to play, he scored 10 points in 14 games with the Toronto Marlies and is now back in the fold with the big club.

Robertson’s Moment Is Now

For a 19-year-old prospect, who’s trying to become an everyday NHLer, this is the biggest moment of his young career. Since Hyman is injured and Nick Foligno has yet to finish his quarantine, the left-side of the lineup is bare. As a result, Robertson has been given top-six minutes, paired beside John Tavares and William Nylander.

He’s clearly looked like a rookie at times, but in other situations, he’s really shown his offensive upside. His speed and shot are his two biggest attributes and if it wasn’t for a puck that got away from him against Vancouver on Sunday night, we probably would have been putting “game-winning goal” beside Robertson’s name on the scoresheet.

Robertson is only going to get a handful of games to prove himself, so he needs to make the most of it, because when Hyman and Foligno return, the top-six will be filled.

Even if he plays well, the bottom-six is going to be just as hard to crack.

Alex Galchenyuk is showing signs of his old self, while Ilya Mikheyev’s penalty-kill abilities and speed make him a hard player to replace. Not only that, but Joe Thornton is still hanging on to a roster spot and is someone who shows up in the biggest moments in the playoffs.

Before you know it, there could be five legit NHL left-wingers ahead of Robertson in the depth chart. Therefore, Robertson needs to make the most of these next few weeks, to solidify himself into the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.

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Robertson is clearly going to be apart of the future of this roster, but it’s up to him if he wants to be apart of the now. These next few weeks will be very interesting, but watch for the youngster to play up to his potential and make a great case to the coaching staff, as to why he deserves to be in the lineup on a nightly basis.

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