Nicholas "Nick" Robertson (born September 11, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected 53rd overall by the Maple Leafs in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs during the

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and concluded on September 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise ...

, where he had 1 goal in 4 games.

Personal life

Robertson was born on September 11, 2001, in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

, to parents Hugh and Mercedes. His mother was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to North America as a child where she would meet her Michigan-born husband. Robertson began playing minor hockey while living in Southern California before moving to Michigan at eight years old for better hockey opportunities. Prior to the move, his parents owned season tickets to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and he would often go to games with his brothers

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

and Michael. His older sister Brianne is also involved in athletics and is a profession jujitsu.

Playing career

Major junior

Robertson began his hockey career in Toronto with the AAA minor hockey team Toronto Red Wings in the

Greater Toronto Hockey League The Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), formerly known as the Metro Toronto Hockey League, is a minor level ice hockey organization based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. The league was founded in 1911 as the Beaches Hockey League by ...

(GTHL). He recorded 18 goals and 18 assists over 32 games for the 2016–17 season while also playing four games with the North York Rangers of the

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

(OJHL). He received attention from the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) and was eventually drafted 17th overall by the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

in the 2017 OHL Draft. He played with the Petes for three seasons, scoring 55 goals and 31 assists for 86 points in his last year before the OHL season was canceled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. He became the first Pete player to score 50 goals in a season since Jason Dawe and Mike Harding did in 1992–93. As a result of his successful season, Robertson received the

CHL Sportsman of the Year Award The CHL Sportsman of the Year Award is given out annually to the most sportsmanlike player in the Canadian Hockey League. It is chosen from the winner of the William Hanley Trophy of the Ontario Hockey League, the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy ...

and was named to the 2019–20 OHL All-Star Team. He was also selected as the Petes' nominee for the

Red Tilson Trophy The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the O ...

as OHL MVP.

Professional

Robertson was drafted by the

53rd overall in the

and signed an entry level contract with the team on September 19, 2019. Upon the cancelation of the 2019–20 OHL season, he returned to Los Angeles where he continued to workout before joining the Leafs for their Return to Play initiative. He participated in the Leafs training camp prior to the

and made his NHL debut during qualifying rounds of the playoffs against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. Upon making his debut, he became the youngest player on all NHL rosters for the Qualifiers and youngest ever in the postseason since April 21, 1996, when

Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played over 1500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Br ...

made his professional debut. A few days later, on August 6, in Game 3 of the Qualifiers versus the Blue Jackets, Robertson beat Blue Jackets goaltender

Joonas Korpisalo Joonas Korpisalo (; born 28 April 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career He was selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round (62nd overall) of t ...

for his first NHL goal in a 4–3 overtime loss. In doing so, he became the third player in franchise history to record a playoff goal before their 19th birthday, the other two being Jack Hamilton in 1943 and

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

(1944).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Nicholas 2001 births Living people American sportspeople of Filipino descent Ice hockey players from California People from Arcadia, California Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players American people of Scottish descent