Robertson should stay up permanently
- Thread starter saffronleaf
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I'm not really sure why people have a problem with young players being in and out of the lineup at the start of their career. In my opinion, this is exactly the right way to bring in talent. In other sports it is common practice.
Stephen
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- Feb 28, 2002
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Kind of interesting thinking about Nick Robertson now and how his struggles mirror Cole Caufield in Montreal stint last season. He ended up in the AHL before Marty St Louis rescued him.
Marty St Louis was also a teammate of Keefe’s in Tampa between 2001 to 2003 and both guys were small, skilled offensive players trying to break into the NHL.
You’d think having been a Robertson type prospect Keefe might have a bit more insight into helping him along, giving him reps and helping him make the adjustments.
Marty St Louis was also a teammate of Keefe’s in Tampa between 2001 to 2003 and both guys were small, skilled offensive players trying to break into the NHL.
You’d think having been a Robertson type prospect Keefe might have a bit more insight into helping him along, giving him reps and helping him make the adjustments.
A decision has to be made as to whether he is a player or not. Sitting long stretches does nothing to build his ability. Either play him 90% of the games or send him down or trade him. We are not helping him or the team.
He had 1 great game where he got us 2 points .. that's it .. before and after he has sucked .. you have to earn your pro time .. it is never given
GoonieFace
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Stephen
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I would strongly disagree with this notion. Confidence usually seems to be a big factor in whether a young player can catch on early in their careers. Can they play their true game at this level, do they have to play some other way to earn trust and repetition in real games? Might be okay for a young kid to get his feet wet and gain exposure to the pro world, but when the talking points around a kid like Robertson are couched in failure so far, it’s not productive to sit him out.
Fogelhund
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- Sep 15, 2007
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He hasn't. He's got a good shot. He isn't strong on his feet, gets pushed off the puck easily, and often knocked down. He doesn't have very good acceleration, and gets caught going back defensively, as he doesn't have high end top speed. He can improve the acceleration with work, and that will help out. He's not fully mature yet, and that takes some time. His defensive awareness has been pretty good at times. He's going to be a good player for us one day, but I'm not sure that day is today.
We don't know if it's productive to sit him out or not. We don't know what's being said to him, what he's saying back, what they are working on to improve him. Whatever is going on behind the scenes, could be very beneficial for him... you don't know, I don't know....
How did the sitting work for Frank Corrado? They need him to play, look at Cole Caufield and Cole Perfetti, they spent good amount of time in the AHL and then came up and were put in offensive situations and allowed to be who they are. I just think they need to get creative and find ways for him to be out there with the top offensive guys.
Or if you don’t really believe in his ability trade him to a team who does and get something of quality for him
Notsince67
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A proven NHL player doesn't get you on the Leafs.
I have a tough time getting excited by him. He is ok but wont move the needle much and his upside potential likely doesn't get him a spot on the top 6 of this team anytime soon. If Dubas was smart, he would be looking for a Dman right now and gathering a package of players including Robertson for a trade. Throw Holl into the mix and we also can clean up the roster a bit.
Robertson simply isn't an NHL player right now, and didn't look it in the preseason. He's too slow, can't win battles, can't create his own chances, and is extremely bad defensively (to the point his teammates need to point at him where to go).
He's got a nice release, yes. But you can't be an NHLer hoping to find yourself in those spots out of sheer luck.
My preseason take was that Malgin and Holmberg were both more ready to help the Leafs this season, and though it is still early, I think that is pretty accurate.
They should send him back to the Marlies.
He's got a nice release, yes. But you can't be an NHLer hoping to find yourself in those spots out of sheer luck.
My preseason take was that Malgin and Holmberg were both more ready to help the Leafs this season, and though it is still early, I think that is pretty accurate.
They should send him back to the Marlies.
I would not. Kerfoot has vastly more defensive utility. And Robertson isn't really good enough to play in offensive spots. He doesn't have a place on the team right now.
Fonzieleaf
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DopeyFish
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Isaac Nootin
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Stephen
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Isaac Nootin
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Even that's incorrect considering some of the absolute meatbags that played back in the day.
Stephen
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Danton would be the more plausible goon out of the David Frost gang. That’s the only plausible candidate I can think of. Keefe was a highly offensive minded tweener who was scrappy. Not a goon though.
Larcos_Unal
Registered Nurse
Nick hasn't earned NHL playing time. He's too small and gets knocked off the puck way too easily.
He needs to star with the Marlies for a couple of months, play in all situations. He's missed a lot of training and development time with injury and lockdowns...there's just no rush right now.
He needs to star with the Marlies for a couple of months, play in all situations. He's missed a lot of training and development time with injury and lockdowns...there's just no rush right now.
ULF_55
Moderator
Play him against the better teams.
They'll probably lose to the Devils, so no harm if he's ineffective.
Just get him some reps.
They'll probably lose to the Devils, so no harm if he's ineffective.
Just get him some reps.
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
They need a to make a firmer decision with him. Either that he's not ready and sent down to the Marlies, or accept that hes going to have warts in his game but keep him in the lineup to get playing time. Scratching him is the worst of both worlds other than allowing him to practice with the team
Stephen
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Agreed. Also, this requires the Leafs to be brutally honest in what they want out of Nick Robertson and to be fair with the player by giving them a step by step breakdown of what you want, how they can give that to you and what is the path forward?
Are you trying to harness cheap ELC offense in the short term and want to see a, b, c out of Robertson plus x stats line? How many games and minutes would you need to commit to this project? Are you willing to accept immature 5 on 5 play?
Are you trying to utilize him in a bottom 6 role where he needs to show d, e, f before you trust him in a more prime offensive role? Again, what does the utilization look like in games and minutes? What do you need from him shift to shift?
For me, it goes back to drafting and developing projectible types of players. I appreciate that Holmberg is being given an audition because he's a depth center, but if Robertson is a big shot, water bug scorer, he can't be judged as if he's being auditioned for the same role as Holmberg. Finally, if your program is already stacked with top 6 forwards at an elite level, maybe you need to be more strategic in not drafting and developing guys who will hit this glass ceiling and can't help you.
