He's not a standout either way for me. Given how we deployed our 3rd line last year (that switched in playoffs), he was fine. I don't want him out PK'ing or in the final minute, but he never struck me as a guy truly struggling in our end.
I think you're reaching to make a point on the first paragraph, but I won't convince you. I'll just say I think it's a big reach to suggest he's unplayable on a bottom 6 role when we were rolling out a guy like Domi as 3C. He had speed to get to the wall and usually made safe plays to exit. He's clearly not afraid of contact and never tried to do too much. He forechecks well, and battles in the corners. I don't think he's wired well for defensive anticipation, but he works hard and doesn't take many chances with the puck.
A few separate but related points. First Robertson and where he fits:
I don’t think Robertson thrives in a 4th line role because he’s not well built to handle those kind of jobs, especially if you want a 4th line to be a physical identity line or want defensive shut down capabilities. People who advocate for Robertson have compared him to Reaves, who is an identity line kind of player, and other guys like Holmberg, Kampf, Dewar etc. who are low on the pecking order guys but happen to be better 200 foot options.
So it’s not a comfortable Robertson Versus because you’re not necessarily filling out a lineup by pure offensive upside. Which by and large is all Robertson is: a unique scoring threat with a motor, and a busy busy game.
But at the same time, Robertson’s best chance to make the Leafs and carve out an actual role is to graduate to the middle six, and produce at a rate where the reward to downside is diminished and he isn’t actually doing grunt work.
Moving to a general point, this underscores the challenge in developing young players. A healthy organization has to develop while its competing but the juice has to be worth the squeeze for the young player to get a toe hold. That’s not exclusive to Robertson.
