It was the most important training camp of Nick Robertson’s young career, and full credit to him, the 23-year-old knocked it out of the park.
It wasn’t quite the Jose Bautista bat flip, but it was damn close.
Of course, over the summer, the 2019 second rounder made some headlines when he requested a trade. The Leafs, who held all the leverage stood pat, and so far, the decision to do so has paid off immensely.
Robertson went from a borderline bubble guy on the opening day of training camp to a shoo-in to dress in next Wednesday night’s opener in Montreal.
He had to have a big camp, and that’s exactly what he’s done.
Quite honestly, that’s massive win for all parties involved. Not only will Robertson, who’s currently day-to-day with an upper body issue, enter the year with an abundance of confidence, but indisputably, there’s no question his trade value will take a positive hit from all of this as well. At the very least, the Leafs suddenly have a variety of options at their disposal. Having said that, if Robertson continues to play like it, he will be going nowhere.
What isn’t being discussed enough is Craig Berube. To be fair, he’s probably the biggest reason Robertson’s probably still a Leaf. With a new coach coming in, it made absolutely no sense to sell low on him. It’s funny to say, but maybe he just needed to get away from Sheldon Keefe.
Ultimately, yes, the sample size is small. On top of that, it’s one thing to consistently produce in the preseason, it’s another to carry that over to the regular season. Having said all that, when Robertson inked the one-year deal to stay in Toronto, the best possible outcome to play out was him having a good showing. Mission complete.
Moving forward, it will be fascinating to see if he can keep the momentum going. If Robertson can find a way to stay consistent on both sides of the puck, Toronto’s stern stance on his trade request could prove to be an all-time decision.
