‘He’s hungry’: Maple Leafs’ Robertson confident he’s ready for NHL spotlight

TORONTO — Nick Robertson is ready to go again.

After another year in which injuries slowed his rise, the 21-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs prospect flew across the ice again on Wednesday at the Ford Performance Center in Etobicoke, Ontario, preparing for another Prospect tournament in Traverse City , Michigan, this week — and yet another attempt to become the Maple Leafs’ X-Factor.

“It’s just another opportunity to get some replays,” Robertson said after practice. “I think I’ve had about three months off and I definitely want to be in game form when it really counts going into preseason and going to camp with the Leafs.”

The 2019 second round pick has little to prove to his blue and white peers, his real competition will be taking the ice down the line at this main training camp. But Robertson is aware of the eyes that will be on him in Traverse City to see how he handles his role as a veteran youngster.

“It definitely is [about] play right. I’ll definitely play a lot more minutes and now I’ll be more likely to be counted in a leadership role,” he said of his goals for the tournament, which runs from Thursday to Monday. “I definitely want to put that expectation and that pressure on myself to do well and play well.”

For assistant coach Manny Malhotra, who will serve as the head coach for the Traverse City tournament team, he and his staff expect exactly the kind of boxing that the young Maple Leafs will be reviewing.

“The most important thing for us at the camp is that we want to see their competitive nature,” Malhotra said. “How will they compete? Do they have the ability to compete for points? Do they take the information and immediately apply it in games? It’s that hockey IQ. We look for them who do their best and show us what they can do.”

As for Robertson, Malhotra said the young winger’s desire to progress at Traverse City was already clear.

“When I only saw him on day 1 and the last couple of days he prepared well. He looks sharp,” said the coach. “You can see that he has the hunger to perform this year and to be successful with his goals. My role at this camp in Traverse City is to prepare guys like him, guys like Alex Steeves – guys who want to take the next step – in the best possible way. Just make sure they are ready for the main camp and doing their best.

It’s been an offseason of trouble and progress for Robertson after a 2021-22 season in which he struggled with more injuries, last season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL over 28 games in a points-a-game Tempo produced and scored his first NHL regular season goal during a 10-game run with the big club.

With his skills on the sheet already undeniable, work focused on the gym that summer.

“Get bigger and stronger,” he said of his off-season focus this time. “I think I’ve gotten a little fatter in the legs and upper body and am working on being stable on the ice. … At one point in the summer I weighed about 185, and then I kind of simmered down. I think the main focus sometimes is that as a smaller guy you have to add weight, but I think for me I just added thickness, I added more foundation.

“I did better than ever on my bike test, so my numbers definitely went through the roof.”

As young Robertson seeks the next step in his career, there may be no better mentor than the man who will lead the bench for those four games at Traverse City. Who better to learn from than a former first-round pick who had to grind himself through some slow starts in the big leagues and a few months in the minor leagues before morphing into an everyday NHLer — and staying there for 16 years ?

Few understand better than Malhotra the need to push, grow and adapt to finally find a path into that coveted life on the ice under the lights. And the key to unlocking this next step, according to Malhotra, lies in more than just stacking highlight RPGs.

“Obviously everyone who comes to the camp can play hockey very well,” said the coach with a grin. “So I think the biggest thing for a pro would be consistency. Just having that level of professionalism, maintaining that level of excellence on a day-to-day basis and not having those troughs and peaks in the way you play, number one.

“Number two would be just understanding the game – applying systems, being in the right place at the right time positionally, and making the plays that are expected of you.”

Robertson will get another chance to prove he can bring that consistency and awareness at the pro level starting Thursday when Toronto prospects take on the Dallas Stars’ young guns. Matchups against candidates from the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings will follow before the 21-year-old can move to the Toronto main camp and preseason.

Whether that month-long streak ends with Robertson still wearing a Maple Leafs sweater or his return to the AHL once again, his focus is solely on the process.

“I think for me it’s just doing what I can and playing what I can,” he said of the road ahead. “I know that I’m confident, that I’m a player of this caliber.”

Maple Leafs assistant general manager Ryan Hardy, who oversees the Traverse City roster, tends to agree.

“If you look at last season in particular, he played 28 American League games and scored 16 goals,” Hardy said of the organization’s young sharpshooter. “That’s a 40 goal clip for a kid who just shot [21] recently. That’s incredible. He’s extremely ambitious, he’s a young man who loves hockey so I think he’s pretty much knocking on the front door.

And so it comes down to another tournament, another training camp, another preparation for the season. Another chance for Robertson to show the Maple Leafs he is who he thinks he is – and who they think he is.

“You know, every year I would say, ‘This is my year.’ Every year I try to get into the team. When I got drafted three years ago, I wanted to make the team,” said Robertson. “Of course my goal is not to return to the American League, my goal is to play in the NHL like every year. Nothing has changed. So in terms of chances of making the team, that’s up to us [Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe].

“But for me, I have to put myself in the best position for it.”