Nick Robertson, what do you think about this Kid ?

[Menzinger]

He's certainly looking pretty hungry for a spot.

Waiver eligibility still likely ends up sending him to the Marlies for the sake of avoiding losing another player to start the season but like that he's making things look interesting

 

[Stephen]

I like the reports of Steeves and Robertson feeding off each other and building some momentum. We need another youth movement up front to really flesh out the forward group. If it goes well, you can rest easy finally ending the Kerfoot experiment and maybe allocate those pennies to Rielly's new deal.

 

[Knies iT]

I like the reports of Steeves and Robertson feeding off each other and building some momentum. We need another youth movement up front to really flesh out the forward group. If it goes well, you can rest easy finally ending the Kerfoot experiment and maybe allocate those pennies to Rielly's new deal.

Cap increase and Kessel's retention should cover Rielly's deal alone (in the 7.2m range) if he signs for a fair price.

But yeah, having two two-way wingers on ELC's might even allow you to upgrade Kerfoot (e.g. Domi, Jenner, etc.) if Mikheyev also walks. Leafs have been pretty starved for that after the failed 2015-17 mid-late rounds.

Robertson's ELC won't slide anymore so you burn a year regardless. He should be given a real extended look.

 

[ottomaddox]

Right now not a whole lot.

He's got to show a lot more hunger at this point.

I need more (we all do) from him next game and from now on.

This season could be his best opportunity to get NHL games in.

 

[ULF_55]

I did hear his name a couple times last night.

He blended into the crowd of non-NHLers.

 

[All Mod Cons]

He's gonna have to work a hell of a lot harder to make this team.

 

[Stonehands1990]

He’s not ready. Robertson on the team can be an offensive spark but we will get caved in on possession. Maybe if we create a sheltered offensive line with Robertson-Kerfoot-Nylander

 

[The CyNick]

Seems like there's less shine on this kid this season than the past.

 

[All Mod Cons]

I just don't see how he makes the team.

 

[Lanny]

He wont make this team out of the camp. His skating is not up to NHL standards. Works hard, but falls down on contact. He needs a season or two of seasoning with the Marlies.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Weak skater .. too small .. but he has a great engine and desire and shot .. a real long shot to make NHL TBH

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

He will probably be the first call up, our left wing depth is still unknown at this point.

 

[81Leafs50]

He is an NHLer. Once he plays a full season we will know much more than we do now. is he top 6 or bottom 6 long term?

the ceiling is high. Could be a long term solution for Matthews LW.

 

[Maplebeasts]

He’s not ready. Robertson on the team can be an offensive spark but we will get caved in on possession. Maybe if we create a sheltered offensive line with Robertson-Kerfoot-Nylander

Any line that has Nylander on it is not going to be sheltered.

 

[cookie]

Robertson has some great moments where he takes over parts of a shift but at the same time, seeing him being knocked down on his behind so often and failing to be rewarded for his honest effort is a bit depressing. I would love to see him with someone that can play as a kind of secondary threat that can hide in the shadows, sort of like Andreas Johnsson did on the first line... or maybe Tavares?

 

[Alamo Leafer]

I worry about his reply, which basically stated that he couldn't, or wouldn't, dial it back because that's just not his style. I realize he's just a kid and is gung-ho and all that. But if you've got people telling you to "pick your spots" more or less, and you're not willing to do that, then we may have a problem. I hope that's not the case.

I know my take here won't be a popular one, with everything I've been reading from his fans all these years, but I for one am not convinced, or at least haven't seen anything to date from this kid to go all gaga on him.
My impression of the kid is: he comes across a bit arrogant & cocky. To top it off, getting thrown around left, right & center doesn't cut it for me.
Now, I know some will say nothing wrong with being cocky etc. & I fully admit I'm old school, picky when it comes to attitude & believe in a bit of humbleness (!) when the young kids come on board etc., but at least if he wasn't always flat on his a$$ & played to his perceived potential, I would've given him a pass & overlooked his demeanor.
But again that's just grumpy old me

 

[Stonehands1990]

Any line that has Nylander on it is not going to be sheltered.

They’d be playing against 3rd pair D men

 

[ottomaddox]

They’d be playing against 3rd pair D men

All the opposing coach has to do is switch his d-core a little.

 

[ULF_55]

All the opposing coach has to do is switch his d-core a little.

Be nice if all you had to do was put a top forward on a 3rd. line for them to face 3rd. pairing defenders.

Better still put Matthews on the 4th. line and he'd be facing the 4th. pairing.

j/k

 

[Sypher04]

Nylander on the third line though would present a matchup headache for the oppositon coach, no question.

you either leave your defense configuration as is, and nylander gets a ton of very favourable matchups, or you try to mitigate that and end up weakening your pairings that are going up against marner/Matthews/Tavares. It’s a bit of a no win, as most teams aren’t deep enough to cover 3 lines with quality defenders

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Nylander on the third line though would present a matchup headache for the oppositon coach, no question.

you either leave your defense configuration as is, and nylander gets a ton of very favourable matchups, or you try to mitigate that and end up weakening your pairings that are going up against marner/Matthews/Tavares. It’s a bit of a no win, as most teams aren’t deep enough to cover 3 lines with quality defenders

Likely yes .. but Keefer has been telling everyone all summer long he wants to go with 3 scoring lines and a shutdown line this year .. we will see if he has enough talent in camp and preseason to line up like he wants to .. to me I put Willy at C and Kerfoot on LW and either Mik/Wayner on their right side

 

[ponder]

He needs to get a lot stronger on the puck, the AHL is a good place to do this. The most optimistic comparisons are to guys like DeBrincat, Gallagher and Marchand, but those guys are super strong on the puck, while Nick gets pushed around a lot. He compares well to same age versions of those guys in terms of skill, but is way weaker on the puck. It’s about technique as much as strength.

Won’t make the Leafs out of camp - personally I’d like to see:

Bunting - Matthews - Nylander
Ritchie - Tavares - Marner
Kerfoot - Kampf - Kase
Mikheyev - Spezza - Simmonds

Can’t see Nick ahead of any of those guys, and having him rot in the pressbox makes no sense either. But development in the AHL, with some initial callups if he’s doing well, that seems like a good path to me.

 

[stickty111]

I know my take here won't be a popular one, with everything I've been reading from his fans all these years, but I for one am not convinced, or at least haven't seen anything to date from this kid to go all gaga on him.
My impression of the kid is: he comes across a bit arrogant & cocky. To top it off, getting thrown around left, right & center doesn't cut it for me.
Now, I know some will say nothing wrong with being cocky etc. & I fully admit I'm old school, picky when it comes to attitude & believe in a bit of humbleness (!) when the young kids come on board etc., but at least if he wasn't always flat on his a$$ & played to his perceived potential, I would've given him a pass & overlooked his demeanor.
But again that's just grumpy old me

Yeah I don't believe in this. Robertson is a pretty humble kid. Lets not forget the circumstances he was born. He was almost not here in the world.

 

[ottomaddox]

"I want Nick Robertson to Show them!!!! Show them you’re willing to trade a bus ride to Peoria for a cab ride to the Air Canada Centre!!!"

- Dallas Eakins 2021

 

[Menzinger]

I don't see any harm with him starting with the Marlies to smooth out his remaining development. Also helps the front office deal with the number of bodies needing icetime they have presently.

He can challenge for a spot mid season.