Relaxed approach helps Robertson finally seal the deal at Leafs camp
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The Maple Leafs skated at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday ahead of their pre-season finale against the Detroit Red Wings.
Nick Robertson has never started a season in the NHL. Until now.
During an interview on OverDrive on TSN 1050 on Friday, general manager Brad Treliving said that the 23-year-old has done enough to earn a spot with the Leafs.
"Very proud of him," Treliving told Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Frankie Corrado. "He's muscled his way right into a position here."
The Leafs start the regular season on Wednesday night in Montreal and, for the first time, Robertson is poised to be part of the pomp and circumstance of opening night.
"It means a lot," the 5-foot-9 winger said. "I was actually talking to my parents about it, they're going to come up for it. It was something I was thinking about coming into camp and I'm glad it could start like that."
Robertson scored five goals in four pre-season games, but that's not what impressed new head coach Craig Berube the most.
"I knew he was skilled, fast, can shoot, but what surprised me about him so far in camp is his work ethic and his competitiveness have been excellent," said Berube. "And, for me, that's what's going to make him a real good player in this league."
Robertson scored 14 goals in 56 games last season. He was second on the Leafs in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes behind only Auston Matthews, but still struggled to stick in the lineup. When he did play, Robertson only averaged 11 minutes and 23 seconds of ice time and didn't have a regular role on the power play. Robertson, who was a healthy scratch in Game 7 of the playoff series against Boston, requested a trade in the summer before eventually signing a one-year deal worth $875,000 in September.
Despite all the offseason uncertainty, he turned the page quickly at training camp. What clicked for the California native?
"It's just because I was relaxed," Robertson explained. "I think I learned that the best of me is being calm out there. You can kind of anticipate better. You can think about things better and also you conserve your energy. I'm a hard-working person. I think I found the balance of when to turn it on, when to turn it off, when to relax, and when to go."
After dealing with a series of injuries early in his career, Robertson finally got through a full season without a serious ailment last year.
"When I get a full summer of working on building on something instead of building back something, it's huge," Toronto's second round pick in the 2019 draft said.
During the gruelling bike test at the start of training camp, Robertson finished a couple seconds faster than previous years.
"I think the conditioning aspect of my game has improved," he said.
After missing Friday's practice to nurse an upper-body issue, Robertson was back on the ice on Saturday. He won't have to play in the pre-season finale on Saturday night.
Next up will be a pair of practices early next week before a trip to the Bell Centre and a new experience.
What stands out about opening night?
"Just anticipation, especially in Montreal too," he said. "It's going to be exciting."
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Most of the NHL regulars will be in the lineup on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings. The second line will feature John Tavares between Max Domi and William Nylander.
"Max is a really good passer," Berube noted. "We all know that. And Willy can score goals and shoot. And you've got Johnny T there in the middle. We've got a few guys on that line that can take faceoffs, play down low, which is great ... I feel it's a good combination. A lot of speed on the wings and a lot of work by 91 in the middle of the ice, you know, especially around the net and things like that. He's good there, scores goals there, wins battles there. So I feel it could be a good line."
Nylander started camp as a centre and Berube stressed the 28-year-old will continue to work on that. At the end of Saturday's skate, the Swede took some faceoffs as Berube looked on.
"He needs to keep working on faceoffs and keep working on the positioning of a centre because it is a very good option," Berube said.
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If Nylander starts the season on the wing, which appears likely, that will open up a spot in the middle. It looks like Pontus Holmberg is poised to grab it. The 25-year-old struggled in training camp last year and failed to make the team. This year, he's made a big impression on his new bench boss.
"Very impressed," Berube said. "He's got great hockey IQ. He's been highly competitive in the battles and winning battles and making subtle little plays from the middle of the ice for us, and very reliable defensively."
Holmberg will start Saturday's game on a line with Max Pacioretty and Bobby McMann.
"Really smart two-way forward," observed Pacioretty. "Strong skater, I think that always helps when you're playing with a guy like that down the middle. He can kind of take care of a lot of responsibilities and take some pressure off yourself when it comes to some down-low play in your own end. Just a very reliable player who I noticed right away a lot of guys like playing with."
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Pacioretty is at Leafs camp on a professional tryout, but a contract seems to be a formality at this point. Berube has consistently praised the veteran, who has been slowed by a pair of Achilles tears in recent years.
"Last game, he did a great job down low on some plays and we drew a few penalties because he was strong on pucks and winning battles on the walls and things like that," Berube said. "And he has the ability to score goals. I mean he's scored a lot of goals in this league with his shot and things like that, but he can be a real good player on the walls, winning battles, hanging onto pucks in the offensive zone and that's how we want to play. We want to have O-zone time. We want to hang onto pucks. We want to wear teams down. He can do those things for us."
Pacioretty describes his game of late as "not bad" but the 35-year-old is aiming to hit a new level on Saturday.
"I definitely have a lot to improve on tonight and I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Holding onto pucks, that's when I'm at my best, you know, kind of grinding teams down, [grinding] defencemen down, using my body. I think I'll be much better at that."
Pacioretty senses a different feel around the group heading into the pre-season finale.
"Now it's time to get serious," he said. "Not to say that the other five games weren't serious, but now it's time to start to feel good about your game and not just, you know, the points, the little details that make a team successful. You want to prove your identity with a new coach and, for myself, personally, in a new organization right away."
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Defenceman Timothy Liljegren, who signed a two-year deal with a $3-million AAV in the summer, has struggled to find his game at camp.
"It hasn't really gone my way thus far," the 25-year-old told reporters on Friday. "I just haven't really had that much flow in my game, I guess. I think it's been okay but not my best hockey."
"Lily has to do things quicker," Berube said. "He has to be a little bit heavier in his battles, move the pucks quicker, and simplify the game. He is battling. He wants to be a guy in the lineup every night. That is great, but sometimes you put too much on your plate."
Liljegren will not be in the lineup on Saturday. His slow start has opened the door for Conor Timmins to get a look on the right side of the third pair beside Simon Benoit.
"He's been highly competitive," Berube said of Timmins. "First and foremost playing defence, you gotta defend and be competitive and do all the things there that we need, but I like the puck movement. He moves the puck well. [He] sees the ice well and moves it well."
Timmins, who is entering the final year of his contract which carries a $1.1-million cap hit, felt he improved on his checking last season and focused on that aspect of his game again during the summer.
"It's a little bit addicting once you start to improve on something and see that improvement," the 26-year-old said. "You want to keep going at it so that was my mindset."
Timmins likes Berube's system.
"It's pretty simple for me," he said. "I've just got to move the puck fast."
The fit is also good with Benoit, who balances out the pairing with a bruising, physical approach.
"He's a good offensive d-man," said Benoit. "He sees the play so it makes my game easier. I just give him the puck and he makes those little plays."
"We complement each other really well," said Timmins.
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Liljegren's absence from Saturday's game is all the more notable because Jake McCabe, who has been playing on the right side of the second pair, is dealing with a lower-body injury and won't suit up. Instead, it will be Philippe Myers slotting in beside Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Myers suited up five times for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. He played most of the year in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch. Myers spent some time in the Maple Leafs system during the 2021-22 season when he played for the Marlies in the AHL.
"For me, it's a fresh start," Myers said earlier in training camp. "There's a lot of familiar faces and, from what I was told, there's a little bit of opportunity here. So that's probably the main reasons why I came here."
Standing 6-foot-5, Myers will be the tallest defenceman on the Leafs blue line on Saturday and also feels like his game will mesh well with Berube's system.
"He wants us to play simple, fast, and not complicate things, just get pucks on net, and that's right up my alley," the undrafted 27-year-old said. "It's what I've been trying to do for the past few years in Tampa and Syracuse. So it's good to have a coach with that mentality."
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Veteran winger Calle Jarnkrok will sit out Saturday's game after aggravating a lower-body injury on Thursday in Detroit.
Joseph Woll gets the start on Saturday and will play the full game, per Berube. It is Woll's first game action since the pre-season opener on Sept. 22.
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Projected Leafs lineup for Saturday's game:
Knies — Matthews — Marner
Domi — Tavares — Nylander
Pacioretty — Holmberg — McMann
Lorentz — Kampf — Reaves
Rielly — Tanev
Ekman-Larsson — Myers
Benoit — Timmins
Woll starts
Stolarz
Power play units at Saturday's skate:
Rielly, Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Tavares
Ekman-Larsson, Pacioretty, Domi, McMann, Knies