Injury Report: Nick Robertson - 6-8 weeks recovery as of December 10,2022

[Teeder Keon]

This narrative about big or small .. and relative too injury has a tiny bit of truth , but injuries are injuries ..
They happen all the time to big players and small and in between..in every sport .
Fluke or not ..
Injury prone or not ..
Shiiiiii ttttttt happens
He will be back and smarter than ever

Next up
Opportunity knocks every game

GLG

 

[Stephen]

Not too bad I guess.

We can make a lot about his size, but it is more his balance that needs work. He went flying because he was in the middle of a cross over and only had one skate on the ice. I have seen plenty of 6'3", 220 lbs guys go flying for the same thing. Add in landing awkwardly and they get hurt too.

I just remember Sandin completely laying out Blake Wheeler... And various other guys who were much bigger than him. Some of those could have easily caused the same injury that Robertson suffered.

Hate to be critical of Robertson as he's battling a 6-8 week rehab, but I find the issue isn't necessarily size, but size relative to the software in his brain.

He's got the heart and drive of a 6'3" 220 pounder with a wicked slap shot and willingness to grind it out and get mixed up all over the ice. As a result, he's getting even less mileage out of his actual tools.

Would love to be able to call up Marty St Louis and have him just provide some pointers on how to change the mentality and what to work on off the ice. Ironically, Keefe was a St Louis teammate in Tampa Bay and also a smaller guy. But he was built a lot more solid and didn't really make it as a player, so I'm not sure he's got the secret sauce.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

"We'll beat em on the power play"

Clean hit, not the Dman's fault he's matched up against someone physically not prepared to play in the league

Hate to be critical of Robertson as he's battling a 6-8 week rehab, but I find the issue isn't necessarily size, but size relative to the software in his brain.

He's got the heart and drive of a 6'3" 220 pounder with a wicked slap shot and willingness to grind it out and get mixed up all over the ice. As a result, he's getting even less mileage out of his actual tools.

Would love to be able to call up Marty St Louis and have him just provide some pointers on how to change the mentality and what to work on off the ice. Ironically, Keefe was a St Louis teammate in Tampa Bay and also a smaller guy. But he was built a lot more solid and didn't really make it as a player, so I'm not sure he's got the secret sauce.

If it was as easy as making a phone call, we'd have had Engvall/Gauthier give Wendel Clark a quick zoom and we'd have a couple of monsters on the roster. Tiger cannot change their stripes.

 

[Stephen]

Clean hit, not the Dman's fault he's matched up against someone physically not prepared to play in the league


If it was as easy as making a phone call, we'd have had Engvall/Gauthier give Wendel Clark a quick zoom and we'd have a couple of monsters on the roster. Tiger cannot change their stripes.

I believe the quote that applies to Robertson is "I'd rather tame a tiger then paint stripes on a kitty cat."

He's definitely a tiger, but can we dial him back? Or does he have to build his body to be the power guy he wants to be?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

One positive about this too is that since it is upper body, he may have time to work on his skating. His last two injuries were his leg and his knee.

All three of his injuries were from falling awkwardly when getting hit while being off-balance though.

Don't know if he is going to fix that, but it would go a long way to ensure he doesn't get hurt. That is typically how guys his size are able to stay healthy.

 

[ULF_55]

I believe the quote that applies to Robertson is "I'd rather tame a tiger then paint stripes on a kitty cat."

He's definitely a tiger, but can we dial him back? Or does he have to build his body to be the power guy he wants to be?

If you go to NHL.com and do BIO ... there are a lot of players smaller than him playing regularly in the NHL.

 

[Leaf Rocket]

If you go to NHL.com and do BIO ... there are a lot of players smaller than him playing regularly in the NHL.

its his playstyle for sure.

 

[ULF_55]

its his playstyle for sure.

Not sure what kind of strategy they can use with him.

Played almost the full season in the OHL as a 16 year old.

 

[Primary Assist]

Reminds me of Brandon Kozun, for those who remember him. Smaller guy, great motor, gave 110% every shift like his job depended on it, then collided hard with the boards in a bad way and that was it. Fortunately Robertson will come back and I'm sure with a vengeance, but he needs to learn how to balance playing on the edge and playing to self-preserve

 

[Leaf Rocket]

Not sure what kind of strategy they can use with him.

Played almost the full season in the OHL as a 16 year old.

I am unsure tbh. I think he has skill but his body isn't ready to play the game he is trying to play.

I genuinely believe it all comes down to him slowing his game down just a bit. If that is possible, he can probably be a solid player. As a guy with adhd its the thing we are told lmao...you brain is fast but your body aint...gotta slow it down and you'll be gold.

 

[Knies iT]

Not too bad I guess.

We can make a lot about his size, but it is more his balance that needs work. He went flying because he was in the middle of a cross over and only had one skate on the ice. I have seen plenty of 6'3", 220 lbs guys go flying for the same thing. Add in landing awkwardly and they get hurt too.

I just remember Sandin completely laying out Blake Wheeler... And various other guys who were much bigger than him. Some of those could have easily caused the same injury that Robertson suffered.

?

A bigger player will absorb contact better than a smaller player. It’s that simple. Of course bigger guys still get hit.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I am unsure tbh. I think he has skill but his body isn't ready to play the game he is trying to play.

I genuinely believe it all comes down to him slowing his game down just a bit. If that is possible, he can probably be a solid player. As a guy with adhd its the thing we are told lmao...you brain is fast but your body aint...gotta slow it down and you'll be gold.

He needs to be more careful around the boards. Open ice he is fine. All of his injuries have been off balance along the boards and falling awkwardly once contact was initiated.

A lot is made about his speed, but his speed is more than fine for the NHL. He needs work on his stride to maintain balance, and that may also help everything else too (speed, edges, etc.)

And since this is not a lower body injury for once, he can spend time working on it.

 

[Gallagbi]

Go for the puck and try and evade contact?

....Hes illegally hit on his way to the puck.

 

[ULF_55]

Reminds me of Brandon Kozun, for those who remember him. Smaller guy, great motor, gave 110% every shift like his job depended on it, then collided hard with the boards in a bad way and that was it. Fortunately Robertson will come back and I'm sure with a vengeance, but he needs to learn how to balance playing on the edge and playing to self-preserve

Yes, size isn't the issue.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

?

A bigger player will absorb contact better than a smaller player. It’s that simple. Of course bigger guys still get hit.

Not always. It is more about leverage. Something Robertson needs to learn obviously.

So it is not that simple. Especially since large guys can only go so far to leverage their size legally.

If you remember 6'7" Rasanen. He was constantly beat by guys who were smaller than him due to leverage.

The Importance of Leverage

Gaining the upper hand in a full-contact sport

jhanhky.substack.com

Summarizes it much better. Obviously if you are bigger and can have leverage, then that is great too, but it is actually hard for large guys to have that leverage. And those who do are often like Matthews... not Roy.

 

[Morbo]

yes Robertson is too small. but it's not this particular injury that leads to this conclusion...after all, Muzzin is big physical and tough as nails, but that has not stopped him from being hurt a lot.

 

[Knies iT]

Not always. It is more about leverage. Something Robertson needs to learn obviously.

So it is not that simple. Especially since large guys can only go so far to leverage their size legally.

If you remember 6'7" Rasanen. He was constantly beat by guys who were smaller than him due to leverage.

The Importance of Leverage

Gaining the upper hand in a full-contact sport

jhanhky.substack.com

Summarizes it much better. Obviously if you are bigger and can have leverage, then that is great too, but it is actually hard for large guys to have that leverage. And those who do are often like Matthews... not Roy.

That doesn’t summarize it well but it definitely reads like something Han would argue.

The post wasn’t in response to coming away with the puck.

 

[DarkKnight]

How can this even be, he’s 6 foot 2?.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Maple Leafs’ Nick Robertson Out Six-to-Eight Weeks With Shoulder Injury

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward will work through the injury in rehab to start with the hope of avoiding surgery.

www.si.com

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson will be out of the lineup for approximately six-to-eight weeks as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.

At least that’s how it will start.

The forward is electing to go through rehabilitation instead of going the surgery route.

“It’s not one of those things where you absolutely have to have surgery,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Robertson’s diagnosis. “He’s going to to rehab it and give it every opportunity to heal appropriately and take it from there, but it’s just one of those things that they’ll continue to assess it as he moves along.”

Robertson left Thursday's game in the first period when he took a hard hit from Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy.

.....................

“It sucks even more because he’s been through this before and has had some bad luck with this.” Keefe said of Robertson. “As a young player it’s tough to get traction, but because he has been through it before and each time he’s come out a little bit better, that should give him confidence and belief that he’s got reasons to continue to work and push through and as a result gives us that same confidence.”

 

[Antropovsky]

I appreciate Robertsons fearless play but he needs to improve his awareness of dangerous positions he puts himself in. He reminds me a bit of Grabovski out there, in terms of going anywhere and anywhere at full speed without being aware of his surroundings. I thought he had shown improvements in this area... So maybe this is unrelated.

 

[Magic Man]

That's actually not too bad considering how he looked going off the ice.

 

[LeafSteel]

How can this even be, he’s 6 foot 2?.

Well played sir…..

 

[Doublerum1975]

I don't understand why this wasn't a suspension illegal hit hurt the guy it was way more then just interference penalty

 

[Fogelhund]

I don't understand why this wasn't a suspension illegal hit hurt the guy it was way more then just interference penalty

Suspension? No, not even close.

 

[Pebble live]

I've read and listened to a few interviews where athletes make the comment that staying healthy in pro sports is a skill. It's been recognized by quite a few people now that Robertson needed to change his style to stay healthy. This may be the lesson for him that he needed. A hard one.


Pick your battles and live to die another day. Nylander is the perfect example of this. It may be frustrating to watch him sometimes because he avoids these situations but he's methodical and knows his limits being a bit of a smaller player. I don't blame Robertson though, he recognizes this team needs a bit of grit in that top 6.

If the leafs require a forward who can get in on the forecheck and crash a bit in the top 6 then go f***ing trade for one.