The Dallas Stars were in the Edmonton postseason bubble last summer for 66 days, longer than any other team. Jason Robertson was there for all of it, but didn’t get a single minute of game action. “I took warm-ups for a couple games,” the 21-year-old said. “That was the closest I ever got.”
The Stars’ 2017 second-round pick, coming off his first professional season in the AHL, was called up as a “black ace” throughout the 2020 playoffs. It’s a typical assignment for a rising star, in a very atypical year.
“It was kind of a weird scenario,” Robertson said. “I wasn’t familiar or wasn’t really close to anyone on the team, coming up from Texas [in the AHL], but you are brought in to their little family. You are trying to build that emotional connection — albeit I never played, or was out there fighting with them — but you’re still looking to build that bond or connection they all have together. There was a lot of experience for me to gain; I mean, it was Stanley Cup playoff hockey, the best hockey there is, and I was right there all the way up through the Stanley Cup Final.”
While Robertson gained observational experience — sitting in on every meeting, watching his teammates prep for every game, understanding how tough it is to grind until the end only to have someone else finish with a trophy — he had gone more than six months without playing in a game himself.
“When the bubble concluded, I gave him a couple weeks, then called him,” said Rich Peverley, the Stars’ player development coordinator. “I said, ‘I have a place for you to play in Europe,’ because we wanted him to play. And this stands out in my head. He said, ‘I really appreciate you doing that, but I know what I need to do to make it to the NHL, and it’s not to play in games, I need to get a lot stronger and I need to get a lot faster.'”
So Robertson returned to his family home in Michigan, and got to work with a trainer. He made the Stars’ opening night roster in 2021, but through his first few games wasn’t making much of an impact. Robertson was a healthy scratch for a handful of early-season games. He says now that he may have been “uptight” or afraid to make mistakes.
“We had a discussion this year around that time, and watched some video together,” Peverley said. “As much confidence as he had, not playing is hard. But he was willing to work. He loves the game so much, he’ll go home and watch all of his shifts because he wants to get better. There’s only so many players I’ve had, in my minimal time in this role, where they’re there because they love it so much. They’ll go home and they’ll work on things, when everyone else is home doing other things. He naturally has the drive to be the best player.”
Finally, it all came together. Over the past two-plus months, the offensively gifted winger has arguably been the Stars’ best player, and certainly one of their most indispensable ones. Since Feb. 7, Robertson has scored a team-high 15 goals and 40 points as Dallas makes its final push for a playoff spot in the Central Division, following a sluggish start marred by injuries to key veterans. The 21-year-old was especially impressive in April, when he was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month after appearing on the scoresheet in 13 of 17 games, including a nine-game point streak.
Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov is still the favorite to win the Calder Trophy, but Robertson has made it an interesting race. He could still win it too, considering he has a slightly higher points-per-game average (0.87 versus 0.86) as well as a much higher expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 (56.50% vs 47.84%). Robertson is now on Dallas’ top line, alongside Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz, and broke Jamie Benn‘s franchise record for most points for a rookie at even strength in a season (35).
“I give the kid total props,” Peverley said. “He’s reaping the rewards of putting the work in.”
Robertson has a uniquely American hockey story. He was born in Los Angeles, and got interested in the sport because his father and grandfather were Kings season-ticket holders. “I have two brothers who also played travel hockey [including Nick, currently a Toronto Maple Leafs rookie]” Robertson said. “And with traffic in L.A., and different practice times and arenas, it was a pain in the butt for my parents to get around.”
So the Robertsons got an RV. While one brother was on the ice, the others could be sitting in the parking lot, catching up on schoolwork or just staying entertained. “We’d just bring the big rig to the rink, and just let it marinate for four, five hours,” Robertson said. And then they’d be on the move again.
The family moved to Michigan in 2010, which brought more conventional hockey opportunities. “The hockey in California — it’s not that it wasn’t as competitive, it just wasn’t as up to par yet with the Midwest or the East Coast,” Robertson said. “If I had to guess, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the same exposure staying in California, because it wasn’t as much of a hockey market yet. It’s getting there, though.”
Robertson’s mother was born in Manila, Philippines, before moving to California as a child, making him only the third player of Filipino descent to be drafted to the NHL.
“Nick and I certainly are excited for the opportunity to be role models — not just for the Asian community, but for anyone from different backgrounds, or anyone trying to get into the game of hockey,” Robertson said. “Nick and I, and our whole family to be honest, have always been welcomed at rinks. We’ve never had to deal with any racism or any of that stuff, which is fortunate because there really shouldn’t be any room for that in the world, it’s unacceptable.”
Playing in Michigan opened the door to the OHL, where Robertson generated serious NHL buzz. He was drafted by the Stars in 2017 as part of what is turning out to be a transformative draft class for Dallas, as they selected top defenseman Miro Heiskanen No. 3 overall, potential goalie-of-the-future Jake Oettinger (No. 26) and Robertson (No. 39) with their first three picks.
Robertson was the leading scorer in the CHL in the 2018-19 season before going pro. The Stars wanted him to replicate that success, but knew he’d need to make some adjustments.
“Junior players, they can basically do whatever they want on the ice, because if they’re going to be productive, the coach is continually going to put them out,” Peverley said. “That’s one thing we had to bring to Jason: To play in the NHL, or even AHL, you have to be trusted. If a coach doesn’t trust you, you’re not going to play in critical times. Rick Bowness is no different. Everyone needs to play the same way.”
It was something that Robertson had to work on, even as he scored 25 goals in his first 60 games in the AHL.
“His hockey IQ is off the charts, he has the ability to win tough battles; to me it’s elite what he can do when he has the puck,” Peverley said. “But I watch him this year, he backchecks so hard. Two years ago, he’d probably be waiting on the blue line for a breakaway pass. Now when he gets in on the forecheck, he doesn’t stop moving his feet. He stops in his own zone and he’s blocking shots. These are things told to him by the coaching staff and the development staff of how to be an NHL player — and he did it.”
Said Robertson: “My coaches, Rich, they’ve all told me I have the skill and talent to make plays with the puck. Playing without it is what I needed to improve on. So that’s what I’ve been working on the last few months, those small details that get exposed if you’re not playing right: staying above the puck, tracking, making good defensive decisions.”
The Stars now have five remaining games to get into the playoff field, and then they know anything can happen. While Robertson isn’t immune to hearing buzz around his Calder-worthy campaign, he won’t focus on it.
“At the end of the day, I want to make the playoffs, everyone in that locker room wants to make the playoffs,” Robertson said. “I feel like I’d let everyone in that locker room down if I didn’t have the playoffs as my No. 1 goal. Whatever happens, happens, but the playoffs are where I want to be. That’s where I was in the bubble for two and a half months, and never touched the ice, but I want to be an impact player in the playoffs now. That’s where I want to be.”
