Leafs Winger Nick Robertson Reacts to the News that He's Made the Opening Night Roster
Nick Robertson was ecstatic to find out that he made the Leafs' opening night roster for the first time in his NHL career.
On Friday, Leafs GM Brad Treliving confirmed multiple times that Nicholas Robertson would be on the opening night roster for the first time in his young NHL career.
The 23-year-old has had quite the summer that began with a trade request and has ended with him scoring the five goals for the Leafs in the pre-season and securing a roster spot.
Robertson is not playing in the Leafs' final pre-season game on Saturday, but was asked what it meant to finally crack the opening night roster following the morning skate.
Although he went through a very public up-and-down summer, the 23-year-old put in a tremendous amount of work in the off-season and it showed during training camp. Known for scoring goals, Robertson's growth on the defensive side of the puck is what stood out most to the Leafs' brass and is what ultimately earned him his spot on the roster. Reflecting on his strong camp, Robertson knows he has to continue to play that way in the regular season.
The former second-round pick scored 14 times in just 56 games for the Leafs last season, but his spotty defensive game is what kept him from remaining in the lineup when healthy. His defensive play has improved, which has helped him earn the trust of his new head coach, Craig Berube -- one of the primary reasons why he'll be on the opening night roster.
With Tyler Bertuzzi now in Chicago, Robertson will be counted on to pick up some of the slack. It also appears that he will be getting some opportunity on the penalty kill as Berube has rewarded his hard work defensively with some penalty kill time throughout the pre-season. With opening night less than a week away, Robertson can breathe a sigh of relief and sleep easy until then knowing that his status is no longer in question.
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