Toronto Maple Leafs May Have Found their Scoring 2nd Line Winger

The Toronto Maple Leafs need a second-line winger and they seemed to have found him… Without losing anything.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in the market for a scoring second-line winger, one who can compliment the playstyles of William Nylander and John Tavares.

They seemed to have found him in the farm system, with the emergence of Nicholas Robertson as a quality goal scorer.

At this point it would be shocking if he didn’t make the team.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson

I always knew Robertson had an incredible shot, but it seemed to have gotten even better. He is impressing everyone, including resident sniper Auston Matthews, who complimented the power in his wrist shot.

We would then have a good look at what he can do on the top-six when he dominated the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, with a three-point outing in each of the last two games.

Via Luke Fox of Sportsnet, he is making a positive impression on his teammates, too.

 His coach is harder to impress, but Sheldon Keefe does seem impressed with the 21-year-old:

As much as these are NHL preseason games, this is not the NHL,” Keefe notes. “But in Nick’s case, whatever has been in front of him, he’s just continued to get better. (From the same Sportsnet article linked above).

So, it seems Nicholas Robertson has made a positive impact on the organization as a whole with his desire to improve and the utilization of his skills in the NHL.

If he can provide depth scoring on a league minimum entry-level contract, the Leafs will really benefit. Whether on a line with John  Tavares, and replacing Alex Kerfoot, or deployed lower in the lineup, it seems clear that Nick Robertson belongs in the NHL at this time.

I really think that, after watching him in action, that he could be a 30-goal scorer for the team and their secondary goal scorer in the future. Despite his size, he plays the game at a gritty level when needed, as displayed on his gritty forecheck vs Montreal leading to a wide-open Nylander backhand goal.

There is a lot to like about Robertson, and the only reason why he would not make the final cut is if the Maple Leafs decide to keep a player who has to clear waives to go down.  If so, you can’t blame them for maintaining flexibility, and anyways, you know Robertson will be the first call up under this situation.