Nicholas Robertson (ice hockey)

Nicholas Robertson (born September 11, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs 53rd overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. In 2020, he made his NHL debut with the team and subsequently became the youngest player since Jarome Iginla in 1996 to play in the postseason.

Nicholas Robertson
Born (2001-09-11) September 11, 2001
Arcadia, California, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 161 lb (73 kg; 11 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft 53rd overall, 2019
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2020–present

Personal life

Robertson was born prematurely on September 11, 2001, in Arcadia, California, to parents Hugh and Mercedes.[1] His mother was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to North America as a child where she would meet her Michigan-born husband.[2] When Robertson was born, his parents were unaware of the 9/11 terrorist attack until his father left the hospital the following day and saw people waiting outside to donate blood.[1] Robertson began playing minor hockey while living in Southern California before moving to Michigan at eight years old for better hockey opportunities.[3] Prior to the move, his parents owned season passes to the Los Angeles Kings and he would often go to games with his brothers Jason and Michael.[2]

Playing career

Major junior

Robertson began his hockey career in Toronto with the AAA minor hockey team Toronto Red Wings in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). He recorded 18 goals and 18 assists over 32 games for the 2016–17 season while also playing four games with the North York Rangers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). He received attention from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and was eventually drafted 17th overall by the Peterborough Petes in the 2017 OHL Draft.[4] He played with the Petes for three seasons, scoring 55 goals and 31 assists for 86 points in his last year before the OHL season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5] He became the first Pete player to score 50 goals in a season since Jason Dawe and Mike Harding did in 1992–93.[6] As a result of his successful season, Robertson received the CHL Sportsman of the Year Award[7] and was named to the 2019–20 OHL All-Star Team.[8] He was also selected as the Petes' nominee for the Red Tilson Trophy as OHL MVP.[9]

Professional

Robertson was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs 53rd overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and signed an entry level contract with the team on September 19, 2019.[10] Upon the cancelation of the 2019–20 OHL season, he returned to Los Angeles where he continued to workout before joining the Leafs for their Return to Play initiative.[11] He participated in the Leafs training camp prior to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs and made his NHL debut during qualifying rounds of the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Upon making his debut, he became the youngest player on all NHL rosters for the Qualifiers and youngest ever in the postseason since April 21, 1996, when Jarome Iginla made his professional debut.[12] A few days later, on August 6, in Game 3 of the Qualifiers versus the Blue Jackets, Robertson beat Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo for his first NHL goal in a 4–3 overtime loss. In doing so, he became the third player in franchise history to record a playoff goal before their 19th birthday, the other two being Jack Hamilton in 1943 and Ted Kennedy (1944).[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2016–17North York RangersOJHL 40332 —————
2017–18Peterborough PetesOHL 6215183314 —————
2018–19Peterborough PetesOHL 5427285524 51122
2019–20Peterborough PetesOHL 4655318640 —————
2019–20Toronto Maple LeafsNHL ————— 41012
NHL totals ————— 41012

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States HG18 4th 5 4 1 5 2
2020 United States WJC 6th 5 2 3 5 2
Junior totals 10 6 4 10 4
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References
  1. Kwong, Evelyn (September 11, 2019). "Born premature on 9/11, they weren't sure if Leafs' prospect Nick Robertson would survive. Now he's an inspiration". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. Rule, Heather (June 20, 2020). "Robertson Brothers Grew Up with NHL Aspirations, Look to Be Filipino-American Role Models". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  3. "Inheriting the Family Work Ethic: Nick Robertson". gopetesgo.com. October 11, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  4. "Nick Robertson Commits to Petes". ontariohockeyleague.com. May 22, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  5. "Nicholas Robertson". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  6. "Petes' Nick Robertson becomes first player to score 50 goals in 2019-20". chl.ca. March 3, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  7. "Nick Robertson wins CHL Sportsman of the Year Award presented by Cavendish Farms". ontariohockeyleague.com. June 4, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. "2019-20 OHL All-Star Teams". ontariohockeyleague.com. May 27, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  9. "OHL Announces 2019-20 Red Tilson Trophy Finalists". ontariohockeyleague.com. April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  10. Morassutti, David. "Maple Leafs sign Nicholas Robertson to entry-level contract". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  11. Clipperton, Joshua (July 17, 2020). "Teenager Nick Robertson doing his best to handle hype of Maple Leafs camp". cbc.ca. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  12. McCarthy, Dave (August 1, 2020). "Robertson, 18, to make NHL debut for Maple Leafs in Game 1 of Qualifiers". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  13. @PR_NHL (August 6, 2020). "Nicholas Robertson (18 years, 330 days) became the third player in @MapleLeafs history to score a playoff goal before age 19. Also: Jack Hamilton (Game 1 of 1943 SF, Game 1 of 1944 SF) and Ted Kennedy (Game 4 of 1944 SF)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

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