The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nick Robertson had a tremendous career-changing season in 2023-24, which bodes well for his NHL career moving forward. Before our discussion, here’s a look at his journey.
Robertson Made a Huge Splash in Junior Hockey
Robertson was drafted 53rd in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. In his final year of junior, he scored 55 goals and 86 points in 46 games for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. He was a dominant junior player with speed, great puck-handling and distributing skills, and a laser shot. Despite his diminutive size (5-foot-9, 160 pounds at the time), he seemed like a sure thing to make the NHL.
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When the Petes failed to make the postseason in 2020, Robertson joined the Maple Leafs and played four playoff games, scoring his first NHL goal. He became the third 18-year-old player in franchise history and the first to do it in 63 years since Ted Kennedy in 1944.
Suddenly, Robertson Began to Suffer Injuries
In his regular-season debut in January 2021, Robertson suffered the first of several injuries that would hinder his professional development: a knee injury that limited him to six NHL games and 21 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Toronto Marlies that season. In October 2021, he suffered a fractured fibula playing against the Manitoba Moose. As a result, he only played ten NHL games and 28 AHL games in the 2021-22 season.
Things did not get any better in 2022-23. On Dec. 22, against the Los Angeles Kings, Robertson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery.
From the time he first stepped on the ice for the Maple Leafs on Aug. 2, 2020, in the pandemic-delayed NHL playoffs, and his 2023-24 season debut on Nov. 6, 2023, injuries and the pandemic limited Robertson to 31 NHL games and 60 AHL games. In those 31 NHL games, he produced just three goals and four assists. His AHL production was impressive, with 27 goals and 57 points in 60 games, but his injuries and lack of playing time hindered his offensive contributions.
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It has been five years since the Maple Leafs first drafted him, and his entry-level contract and waiver-exempt status expire at the end of this season. Therefore, Robertson needed to remain healthy and show the Maple Leafs his capabilities as an NHL player, and he did that.
Robertson Puts in a Healthy Season
Robertson stayed healthy throughout 2023-24 – the first time since his first professional hockey game. Due to his waiver-exempt status, he began the season with the Marlies, playing nine games – scoring five goals and six assists – before being called back to the Maple Leafs.
With the big team, Robertson played 59 of 71 games. He was a healthy scratch for a few stretches as the now-departed head coach, Sheldon Keefe, tried to figure out his optimum lineup. He then played six of the seven games in the Maple Leafs’ first-round series loss to the Boston Bruins.
When Robertson was in the lineup, his offensive production was excellent. He scored 14 goals and 27 points in 59 regular-season games. That would have translated to 19 goals and 38 points in an 82-game season, and he accomplished that while only averaging 11:23 of ice time. He also did not get to bolster his points by playing a lot on the power play. Of his goals, 13 of 14 and 23 of his 27 points were scored at five-on-five.
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According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, Robertson was the third-highest forward on the team in goals per 60 minutes at 1.33 GP/60. Auston Matthews (1.84 GP/60) and William Nylander (1.51 GP60) were the only two players better than him. Robertson failed to register a point in the playoffs.
Would the Maple Leafs Have Given Up on Robertson?
After four years of suffering through injury after injury, Robertson finally managed to get through the 2023-24 season without suffering a single injury. That fact alone can be career-altering. His career may have suffered greatly if he had not made it through this season.
Specifically, how long would the Maple Leafs have continued to support a so-often-injured prospect, regardless of his skills? Now Robertson has a full season of clean health to build on and some pretty impressive numbers for a player who played just 31 NHL games in his first three seasons as a pro.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
