You can add Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to the list of people who have been impressed with Nick Robertson’s play during the preseason.
During an appearance on The FAN Hockey Show on Friday, Treliving was asked how he feels Robertson is doing and Toronto’s GM was quick to point out how impressed with the 23-year-old making strides away from the puck.
“He’s shooting it in the net which is great, but to me, even more important is Nick’s 200-foot game,” Treliving said. “If you look at both the goals last night, they start from great defensive efforts from Nick and you see him killing penalties here right now. So like a lot of young guys that come into the league that are talented guys, it’s rounding out that game and being able to earn trust from the coach that there’s opportunities that we can shoot it in the net, but I’m not going to give up stuff when I’m not doing that. He’s been real committed away from the puck and has been sort of relentless on his forecheck. He’s had terrific camp and it’s good to see it.”
This comes after Robertson had another impressive showing on Thursday night where he scored both of the Leafs’ goals in a win over the Detroit Red Wings. Many of his preseason goals have been the result of his hard work in creating a play at either end of the ice, which eventually leads to the puck going in the back of the opponent’s net.
During the first goal against Detroit, an errant pass from Easton Cowan led to a dangerous shorthanded chance for the Red Wings but Robertson flew back to make a great defensive play to interrupt the threat and regain possession. Moments later, he received a great pass from Cowan before wiring a wrist shot from the right circle in what ended up being the game-winner.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube spoke with reporters post-game Thursday and expressed how pleased he has been in seeing Robertson show a strong commitment defensively while staying true to his offensive skills.
“He has been great,” Berube said.”He has been really good defensively, killing penalties and also producing offensively with goals. The speed is excellent, and he has a great shot. He is using skill and his feet really well. Again, he is responsible defensively, which is great to see.”
Given all that transpired this summer regarding Robertson’s trade request, it is refreshing to see him fully move past it with a strong showing in the preseason. He is motivated to prove he can thrive in a bigger role and show that he can not only snipe the puck but also be responsible defensively and make consistently good decisions with or without the puck.
Treliving pointed out that there was a constant dialogue between himself and Robertson throughout the offseason in working through the trade request and he is happy things worked out well for both parties in the end.
“I know there’s been lots of noise around Nick, but some of it, you be careful what you believe,” he said. “Nick and I talked a lot over the course of the summer and talked regularly over the summer as did Craig with them. The business side had to work itself out and we had to get a contract done, which we did. And like I said, he’s had a terrific camp.”
Robertson was absent from practice on Friday morning with what Berube deemed as a day-to-day ailment. While it is unclear if he will be playing in the preseason finale on Saturday, it is safe to say that he has secured his place on the roster with a strong showing in camp. Given his comments on The Fan Hockey Show, Treliving feels the same way about the training camp MVP.
