Toronto Maple Leafs A Deeper Look: Robertson Gets an Opportunity
Welcome to A Deeper Look, a series of articles where I take a deep dive into a random Toronto Maple Leafs topic and share my opinion with readers.
Today I’m going to break down Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Nick Robertson’s game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. This was, realistically, the first opportunity we have had to see Robertson play top six minutes at the NHL level, even if those minutes were indeed limited over the course of the game.
A little context as to why this game was so important to somebody like me. I record Leaf games for video analysis, and it’s been almost impossible to get good video of Robertson at the NHL level.
In the last two years, Robertson has played in 10 regular season games and 4 playoff games, averaging 9:25 and 12:15, respectively, of ice time.
His most common linemates in the regular season have been Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds, both this year and last year, and this is after factoring in his minutes with Tavares and Nylander from Saturday.
His most common linemates during his brief stint in the 2019-20 playoffs were Kerfoot and Kapanen, which is a slight upgrade in a 3rd line role, but it was still 4th line minutes. It’s not providing much of an offensive opportunity for a guy that scored 55 goals in junior.
There are a lot of fans that have been calling for Robertson to make the Leafs out of training camp and play in a top 6 role in the NHL. There are two issues with that.
First, Robertson is very young. It seems as though he’s been in the system developing for a long time, and he kind of has, but he’s still only 20 years old. Most prospects don’t get full-time roles with an NHL team as a 20-year-old, and Robertson was drafted 53rd overall, so he’s doing just fine with regards to a development timeline.
Second, he’s missed a lot of hockey because of injuries. A knee injury last year and a broken leg this year, both of which have combined to cost him roughly 14 weeks of game action. That is a lot of missed time for a player so young.
All of which brings me back to the reason I am excited about the video footage from Saturday’s game, all 11:16 of it, woo-hoo! But hey, those minutes were with Tavares and Nylander, so he did get opportunities to play with pace and skill.
Of the 18 shifts that Keefe put Robertson on the ice for, I counted seven of those shifts as eventful. All of his shifts were short, so it was either something was happening right away or it was just a quick skate and then off again.
I’ll talk about each of the seven shifts that were noteworthy and then give my summary of the game and what I expect moving forward. I’ll time stamp the shifts for reference, just in case you’re as much of a nerd as I am.
14:16 – 1st. He makes a nice zone-exit pass that’s tipped into the offensive zone by Tavares and establishes a forecheck. He then makes a nice touch pass to Tavares on the cycle to extend puck possession. He then comes back and makes a nice defensive puck retrieval at the red line, curls and beats a forechecker with his feet, and makes a nice zone-entry pass to Tavares that leads to a rush chance by Brodie.
This was a very impactful shift that showed good defensive awareness, mobility, and he made quick reads offensively to establish the attack or keep possession.
6:30 – 1st. He spent almost a full minute buried in the defensive zone on this shift. He stayed in structure with good efficient movements, and just patiently stayed committed to defending. Wasn’t overly aggressive and didn’t cheat for pucks. Good details in his play without the puck.
19:16 – 2nd. Stays within range of his defensemen and makes himself available as an outlet option, doesn’t just fly up the ice. Circles back in defensive support at his blueline, gains possession and quickly makes a nice zone-exit pass to spring Nylander for scoring chance off the rush.
Again, Robertson just does a solid job of offering support to his defensemen in the neutral zone. It creates puck possession and it leads to attack opportunities.
14:44 – 2nd. GOAL!! Here, although Tavares and Nylander do all the work, Robertson shows good straight-line speed to get up ice and create a 2-on-1. He skates into the cross-ice pass, pulls the puck in for a quick wrister and beats Demko between the pads. A very quick release while in full stride, a goal scorers’ goal.
Something to note on this goal. Robertson actually pauses to make sure Nylander has possession before he takes off on the attack. He didn’t gamble, he stayed on the right side of the puck until he was sure that he could go, and then just uses his legs to go and get a goal.
11:44 – 2nd. Shows good structure in the defensive zone. His spacing is tight to his D and the net, he activates to get to a puck on the boards, takes a hit and chips the puck out of the zone. Matthews scores 15 seconds later. This is an example of how good defense leads to offense, and this shift could be used in hockey schools. He just makes the correct simple play and lets the rest take care of itself.
4:50 – 2nd. Moves within his defensive structure. Covers for a defenseman, takes a hit to keep possession and exit the defensive zone. He shows a willingness to go body first for pucks and doesn’t shy away from contact.
17:30 – 3rd. He executes a one-timer off a faceoff win by floating to open ice as the high forward and just letting one rip. The shot had some nice velocity and showed good footwork. He also throws a really big hit on Brad Hunt against the boards after a faceoff loss in the Vancouver zone. I had to replay it several times, it’s literally 1 second that is easily missed as the camera goes up ice, and it was probably the best hit the Toronto Maple Leafs threw all game.
Robertson made a lot of good plays without the puck throughout this game. It was a common theme on all of his shifts that he stayed structured defensively and didn’t cheat for offense. That kind of play will earn him the trust of coaches, and that trust will elevate his usage over time.
I think Robertson has a chance to work his way into the 15-17 minute range over the next few games.
It looks like the Leafs are going to give Nick Robertson a look on the left flank of PP2.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) March 6, 2022
He has not been on the power play to this point.
Keefe looks to utilize Robertson’s shot on the flank and not only does this open up more minutes for him, but it also means he might have a chance to stay in the line-up even when the team is healthy.
Right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs are without Muzzin, Kase, and Sandin, and that has opened up a spot for Robertson. If he produces points, and if he can be lethal with Spezza on the second PP unit, then Keefe has a more difficult decision to make concerning his forward lines.
Robertson’s stat line looked really good on Saturday. He scored a goal, played well defensively, and posted solid metrics with a 58% CF and 83% xG.
His speed is better than last year. He’s calmer than last year and makes better decisions, he’s making simple plays that extend possession and lead to offense. You can see the improvement in his game.
He’s still undersized but he shows better balance, which means he’s probably gotten stronger, and he’s certainly willing to engage physically.
These are all good signs for a very young player who has had some tough luck the last two years.
I finally got a good look at his game with some skilled players, and I definitely liked what I saw. I want to see more of him with Tavares and Nylander to see if some chemistry develops there.
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I don’t think this is an audition as a trade asset. I don’t think it’s just because of injuries either. I think the team wants to see what we want to see; they want to see if he’s capable of helping the team this year.
I think the answer is yes.