In front of a record crowd of 4,000 at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Monday, Tucker Robertson scored the overtime winner as the Petes took a 2-1 lead in the OHL Championship Series.
For Peterborough, it marked a massive swing in momentum in their quest for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. It also marked the second consecutive contest in which Robertson scored the game-winning goal, following up on a four-point performance in Game 2.
Asked if he considered it one of the biggest goals of his career thus far, Robertson was quick to agree.
“Probably the biggest so far,” he said.
Considering the deke he pulled off on a breakaway late in the third to win Game 2, it certainly wasn’t the prettiest goal in the Seattle Kraken prospect’s highlight reel. You won’t find him complaining, though.
“You don’t score many nice goals in overtime,” he added.
Centring the Petes top line alongside Brennan Othmann and Avery Hayes, Robertson continues to be relied upon heavily deep in Peterborough’s championship run. It’s a position Kraken Director of Player Development Jeff Tambellini isn’t surprised the 19-year-old has ended up in.
“He’s one of the best two-way centremen in the OHL,” said Tambellini.
“It starts right away with his faceoffs,” he explained. “A young man who can win faceoffs at that high of a rate that consistently goes a long way – it puts him on the ice in important situations.”
“For an offensive centreman to have that much defensive awareness is impressive. He’s as involved as they come in the game.”
After Robertson’s six-point explosion in the last two games, only his winger Othmann has more points on the Petes roster.
“That’s a pretty impressive Petes forward group and he keeps finding a way to drive the bus and that’s fantastic for us.”
A fourth-round pick of Seattle in last year’s NHL Draft, Robertson was one of many Kraken prospects playing in the OHL this year.
The 2022 NHL Entry Draft also saw the Seattle Kraken select:
- Shane Wright, Windsor (1st round, 4th overall)
- David Goyette, Sudbury (2nd round, 61st overall)
- Ty Nelson, North Bay (3rd round, 68th overall)
- Kyle Jackson, North Bay (7th round, 196th overall)
to add to an existing core led by OHL graduates Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, and Phillipp Grubauer.
In the 2021 draft, they only selected one player from the OHL: London Knights centreman Ryan Winterton. The Kraken’s third-round pick leads the league with 13 goals and 27 points through 18 playoff games as he seeks a second-consecutive OHL Championship.
Winterton has been somewhat of a revelation in London, finding chemistry on the Knights’ top line with 2023 NHL Draft prospects, Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan. The 19-year-old has provided the Western Conference Champions with the “star power” that they have lacked – but Tambellini says it’s the intricate details of Winterton’s game that make him so effective.
“He makes plays in the defensive zone better than most junior players – he has a real awareness,” explained Seattle’s Director of Player Development.
“We’ve been in to see him a lot and we love his overall game – his compete level, the way he handles the puck and protects it. In all the areas we look in to see if a player’s game will translate to the NHL level: he’s ahead of schedule. I think he’s going to be able to fast-track as a young player.
With Winterton and Robertson each centring their respective team’s top lines, the Petes veteran is becoming well-acquainted with his future teammate’s game – and he tends to agree with Tambellini.
“He’s got a really good stick, he puts it in good spots to force turnovers,” said Robertson of Winterton ahead of tonight’s contest. “You can’t leave him alone in dangerous spots, he’ll make you pay for it.”
Neither Robertson or Winterton are too concerned with formalities, however. Asked about what it’s like to play against a fellow Kraken prospect, both star centremen were brief in their response.
“It’s cool to look at it that way,” said Winterton.
“When you’re in playoffs against them, you don’t really think about it much, but I’m sure we’ll say hi to each other at camp.”
“I look forward to being teammates with him one day,” said Robertson.
“But I really want to beat him.”
Tune in to tonight’s 7:30pm contest on TSN 1/3, NHL Network (US) and streaming live online at ohllive.com.
