Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Tuesday prospect Nick Robertson will be given a chance to crack the team's opening night roster next season.
"Come training camp we’ll give (Robertson) every opportunity to potentially make the team and put the ball in his court and see what he can do in the fall,” Dubas told The Athletic's James Mirtle.
The 5-foot-9 winger was selected 53rd overall by the Leafs in the 2019 draft. He led the OHL with 55 goals in just 46 games as an 18-year-old with the Peterborough Petes this season, where he was linemates with fellow Leafs prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev. Robertson also tallied five points in five contests with the United States at the world juniors.
The Athletic's Corey Pronman had Robertson ranked as the 11th-best prospect in hockey at the midway point of the season.
"He’s got the hands to dangle at a high level, and despite not having a lot of assists, his vision is of the highest grades," Pronman wrote back in January. "I may be biased because I’ve been in attendance for some of his highlight-reel assists, but I do think his hockey IQ is elite. He also has a great shot and can pick corners from long distance. He’s small and has an awkward skating stride, but he competes very hard and earns the praise of any coach he plays for because of his work ethic."
TSN's Craig Button compared Robertson to Pittsburgh Penguins' 40-goal winger Jake Guentzel.
“Jake was very similar (early on) - small, hadn’t physically matured, needed more time. But if you go back, all Jake did was produce," Button said. "It was going to take him a little bit of time to get that physical maturity, and now you watch Jake Guentzel, and I think Nick Robertson is like a clone."
Toronto's left wing depth chart is comprised of Zach Hyman, Andreas Johnsson, Ilya Mikheyev (pending RFA), Pierre Engvall, and Kyle Clifford (pending UFA). The emergence of Robertson, a left-handed shot, could potentially allow the Leafs to trade from their surplus of wingers in exchange for help on defense.
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