Jason Robertson beams with pride over the year Nicholas Robertson had in Toronto
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro - USA Today Sports
For Jason Robertson, the fight continues in the Conference Finals. For his younger brother, Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson, it's another long offseason.
After breaking out for 79 points in just 74 games during the 2021-22 season, Jason Robertson exploded to the tune of 46 goals and 109 points in 82 games played the following year.
He had a "down" season of sorts this year as he tallied 29 goals and 80 points through 82 games, but has found his scoring touch in the post-season with 16 points through his team's first 17 games as the Dallas Stars sit 2 wins away from clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.
While Jason and Nick have had very different starts to their careers, they are still one of the more skilled and offensive-minded brother tandems in the NHL. Ahead of the all-important 5th game of the Western Conference Finals, Jason took some time to discuss the year Nick had, beaming with pride for his baby brother.
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Surprisingly, Jason told TSN's Mark Masters that he hasn't spoken much with Nick since the Maple Leafs were bounced in Round 1:
"Not too much, he was on vacation, let him have his space. I talked to him a little bit yesterday, not too much about the hockey, just about other stuff. I know he's back home training in Michigan and watching me right now so hopefully I can put up a good performance for him.
Obviously he'd still love to be in the playoffs but whenever you have a brother who is still going, you know your family is rooting for you, your brothers, your sisters, it's a pretty special moment for our family
I think he had a great year, 12-15 goals in like 50 games, he barely played special teams and he played a lot of even strength minutes so I'm sure his goals per 60 is pretty high. You can see what he can do out there and it's great to see that he's been able to find his feet, score some goals, and this is his first summer in a long time where he can look back on his season and not be hurt or anything and focus on training in the off-season and get ready for next year."
Nick Robertson was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft but has suffered through a myriad of injuries throughout his young career. He has just 60 games under his belt at the AHL-level in parts of 4 seasons and 87 games with the Maple Leafs in parts of 5 seasons - he made his NHL debut during the post-season in 2020.
With the Marlies, Robertson has excelled in short order with 28 goals and 57 points, including 16 goals and 28 points in just 28 games in 2021-22. At the NHL level, he has 17 goals and 34 points, but 14 of those goals came this year in just 56 games. He also added 13 assists for a grand total of 27 points while averaging just 11:23 ATOI.
Interestingly enough, all but one of his goals came while playing even-strength hockey while only tallying 3 total power play points on the season. With the Maple Leafs boasting a top unit with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly, on top of the fact that they had to give Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Matthew Knies power play time as well, there was very few opportunities for Robertson to grab ahold of.
At the very least, this season provided us with a silver lining in that he showed he can stay on the ice, produce at even-strength, and put the puck in the back of the net as a strong secondary option. 2024-25 is set to be a big season for the soon-to-be 23-year-old and if he can remain in the lineup, he's bound to produce at a much higher rate with far more opportunities present.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL |
1 JUIN | 332 ANSWERS Jason Robertson beams with pride over the year Nicholas Robertson had in Toronto How many goals do you think Nicholas Robertson scores next year? |
| 10-15 goals | 80 | 24.1 % |
| 20 goals | 160 | 48.2 % |
| 25 goals | 81 | 24.4 % |
| 30+ goals | 11 | 3.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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