A fully healthy MapleLeafs team doesn’t yet include Nicholas Robertson and that’s OK. reporterchris explains why having him be a part of this extra training camp should pay dividends for Toronto even if they’re not immediate.
Robertson subbed in for Zach Hyman, deemed unfit to practice after blocking a shot Friday, and allowed the bottom-six to be kept intact. That’s not a luxury the team had often before the pause and Keefe is hoping to establish some continuity for groups centred by Alexander Kerfoot and Frederik Gauthier with a best-of-five drawing near.
However, you also get the feeling he’s still navigating the gap from where he’s been to where he’d like to go. The 53rd overall pick from 2019 actually seems more realistic about his chances of making an immediate impact in the Leafs lineup than most of us covering this camp, acknowledging that his relentless effort hasn’t produced the normal number of puck touches he’d like in drills conducted at a NHL pace alongside NHL stars.
Teams always wrestle with the idea of whether they’re putting a prized prospect in a position to succeed when weighing these decisions.
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