![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/USATSI_27540094_168383996_lowres.jpg\")
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson (89) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n When Nick Robertson scored in his return from a healthy scratch against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 25, something felt different.<\/p>\n It had been a running joke amongst Toronto Maple Leafs fans over the past year that Robertson was a \u201cscratch and score,\u201d a player who never had the staying power in the lineup but always responded to a press-boxing by scoring in his following game. That narrative could have persisted with this goal against the Sabres.<\/p>\n But the way Robertson used his hockey IQ and small stature to jump in straight off a line change and sneak between two unsuspecting Buffalo players to position himself wide open in the slot for his first of the season showed signs of a new side to him. On top of that, he was noticeable off the puck on the forecheck and in his own zone, something that hadn\u2019t always been in his game and received significant praise from viewers that night.<\/p>\n It helps that this wasn\u2019t an ordinary return to the lineup for Robertson. Usually, he would be given his typical role in the bottom six, and nothing more would come from that. But with William Nylander out of the lineup, there was an opening in the top six, and Leafs head coach Craig Berube decided to finally see what Robertson was made of in that role, playing him alongside Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann. And since then, Robertson hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n It shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that Robertson is capable of this kind of role, considering where his professional career started. He entered the 2019 NHL Draft projected to be selected late in the first round or early in the second round. Many praised his skill, especially coming off a season with 27 goals and 55 points in 54 games with the Peterborough Petes, while others doubted his small frame at the time at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds. Many teams listened to their fears, so when the\u00a0Leafs\u2018 first pick of that draft came around at 53rd overall, then-general manager Kyle Dubas gambled on the high upside and selected the Pasadena, Calif., product late in the second round.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long for Robertson to win over Leafs fans as a prospect. The following season in the OHL, he matched his previous season\u2019s point total \u2013 in goals. Robertson potted 55 goals along with 31 assists for 86 points in just 46 games, finishing the season leading the league in goals despite all his competition in the scoring race playing at least five more games than him. And while the United States disappointed at the 2020 World Juniors with a quarterfinal loss, Robertson was solid with two goals and five points in five games, more than other American 2019 draftees selected ahead of him like Alex Turcotte and Cole Caufield.<\/p>\n When COVID-19 struck and cancelled the 2019-20 OHL season, Robertson could have left his season at that. But instead, he took the opportunities given to him, and as he was invited to the Leafs\u2019 training camp ahead of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the bubble in Toronto, he impressed then-head coach Sheldon Keefe enough to not only make the team\u2019s roster for the playoffs, but also make his NHL debut to start the play-in series against the\u00a0Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n Robertson played the first four games, scored his first NHL goal in Game 3, and while he was taken out of the lineup in Game 5 for Andreas Johnsson, he already made a strong first impression. After just one year, Robertson was one of only seven players selected in the 2019 Draft to already play in the NHL, and the only one selected beyond the 22nd pick to do so. The future was bright.<\/p>\n However, the next three seasons saw Robertson\u2019s development go sideways. After making the Leafs out of training camp again for the 2020-21 pandemic-shortened season, he sustained a knee injury in his season debut, which limited him to just 27 games between the NHL and AHL that season. In 2021-22, a broken leg limited him to 38 games, and in 2022-23, he played just 17 games before a shoulder injury in December 2022 ended his season. Suddenly any hope of getting the player who got 55 goals in 46 games felt slim, as the lack of playing time hindered his development.<\/p>\n Come 2023-24, Robertson finally had a string of good health, but he had a new obstacle to overcome: getting ice time. After failing to make the team out of camp, Robertson needed just nine games to show he was too good for the AHL, and was recalled to the Leafs. While he usually played when he was there (he was only healthy scratched in 10 games), he still felt out of place. He wasn\u2019t good enough for the top six, but his style didn\u2019t feel suited for the bottom six.<\/p>\n Robertson got some time with John Tavares in the top six but finished the season averaging just 11:23 of ice time. Still, Robertson did score at a 20-goal, 39-point pace when in the lineup (14 goals and 27 points in 56 games), and he and McMann were the only forwards outside of the top six to score more than 10 goals.<\/p>\n The lack of a consistent ice time led Robertson to request a trade as a restricted free agent, and while the Leafs looked for suitors, the two eventually agreed on a contract and decided to play things out until a trade could happen, especially with Keefe gone and Craig Berube taking over. But even with a fresh slate, it was much of the same for Robertson in 2024-25. He got even less ice time in the top six (only 11.5% of it was spent was spent with Tavares), only averaged 12 minutes, and was scratched for 13 regular season games and all but three playoff games. Despite all of this, he was the only Leaf outside of their top six to score more than 10 goals, this time a career-high 15. The lack of ice time continued into the start of the 2025-26, where he never went higher than 13:01 in ice time in a single game, including the healthy scratch on Oct. 24 game against the Sabres.<\/p>\n But as Nylander was knocked out of that game with an injury, opportunity knocked for Robertson.<\/p>\n The Leafs had already been looking for a solution to the Leafs\u2019 top six after two-way phenom Mitch Marner left to the\u00a0Vegas Golden Knights\u00a0in the summer, so in a weird way, losing another player in that group in Nylander to injury forced Berube\u2019s hand. In turn, they may have found the solution, at least for right now, while for Robertson, he\u2019s finally been given the opportunity to play with better players that he\u2019s always wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my goal right now to get more minutes,\u201d Robertson told\u00a0Daily Faceoff<\/em> last weekend. \u201cI want to push to show that I can be counted on to be a top player. Obviously that comes with time, but I want to be a top player on the team. I just want to keep working to earn more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n And so far, he\u2019s earned his spot and hasn\u2019t looked back. In nine games since joining the top six, either playing on Matthews or Tavares\u2019 wing, he\u2019s put up a point in all but two, and produced four goals and nine points in that span. Also in that time, he\u2019s behind only Matthew Knies, Tavares and Nylander on the Leafs in scoring and is tied for 32nd in the league alongside names like Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov, Mark Scheifele and Marner, the player Robertson is replacing in the Leafs\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n Aside from one game against the\u00a0Calgary Flames, Robertson\u2019s never fallen below 12:30 in ice time in the last nine games, and has averaged 14:29 during this run. After never averaging more than 12 minutes of ice time in a single season, it\u2019s a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice,\u201d Robertson told\u00a0Daily Faceoff<\/em>. \u201cIf you can get into the flow and rhythm of the game, that really just helps your confidence. It really just helps your game and feeling good about it. It\u2019s my job to keep earning [minutes] and hopefully get more consistent ice time.\u201d<\/p>\n But this shouldn\u2019t come as a massive surprise to those who paid close attention to Robertson over the past couple seasons. While his totals in 2023-24 and 2024-25 weren\u2019t eye-popping, a look at his rate stats would indicate that all he ever needed was more ice time to produce.<\/p>\n Of course, Robertson\u2019s rates this season are inflated due to a small sample size, but looking at his ranking compared to his teammates, he\u2019s generally produced at a top-six rate outside of his assists in 2024-25. The same goes for his standing in the league: outside of his assist rates and production away from even strength in 2024-25, he\u2019s been producing at a top-line rate over the past three seasons.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s changed? If Robertson has always produced this way, why is he only now just getting consistent minutes in the top six? It\u2019s the rest of his game that has impressed his team.<\/p>\n One of the most common criticisms of Robertson\u2019s game has been that if he wasn\u2019t generating offense and chances, there wasn\u2019t a lot else to his game. It\u2019s why he made such an awkward fit in the bottom six and sometimes struggled to stay in the lineup. But with the Leafs consistently trotting out Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares in the top six for most of his career, they needed an energy, heavy-forechecking forward to complement them, something Zach Hyman, Matthew Knies and McMann were more likely to provide. They didn\u2019t need another player who only brought skill to the table.<\/p>\n With Marner gone, the opportunity for another skilled player in the top six is on the table, and yet that wasn\u2019t enough for Robertson. There\u2019s been a certain energy added to his play since he\u2019s joined the top six, one that\u2019s made him noticeable even without the puck. It\u2019s not that he\u2019s been overly physical, but he\u2019s been feistier, which has meant that, even as the Leafs have only gone 5-4-0 since he secured his new role, he\u2019s consistently looked like one of the best players on the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cTenacious. I think that\u2019s one word to describe him,\u201d Jake McCabe told the media last weekend. \u201cHe\u2019s on that forecheck. His feet are moving constantly. He\u2019s obviously a lethal shooter. So I just see his confidence continuing to grow, which is great to see for Nick. And rightly so, because he\u2019s been playing really good hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTenacious work ethic is everything for him,\u201d Berube said. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing. It\u2019s every shift. He has the ability to put the puck in the net with his shot, but it\u2019s the work. He\u2019s just working, tenacious on it, everywhere around the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n That tenacity and energy have made waves on the Leafs offense, and more recently their power play. Since his promotion, the Leafs have averaged 3.89 goals per game, which is behind only the\u00a0Colorado Avalanche\u00a0and\u00a0Anaheim Ducks\u00a0in that span. And after Toronto\u2019s power play started just 4-for-34 (11.76%) heading into this past weekend, it was Robertson\u2019s work that earned him a goal on the second unit. That got the the Leafs out of their man-advantage slump, and they\u2019ve since scored just as many in the past three games at a rate of 4-for-12 (33.33%). Of those four, Robertson\u2019s unit has two, along with another goal scored on Saturday against the\u00a0Boston Bruins just four seconds after a penalty expired.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in our spots, we\u2019re moving our feet, we\u2019re keeping it simple and trusting our instincts [on the power play],\u201d Robertson said on Sunday.<\/p>\n Robertson has also given the Leafs the ability to be flexible with their top-six deployment. With six of his first eight games in this new role coming at home, the Leafs have been able to run a super line of Matthews, Nylander and Knies while being able to dictate the matchups. But as seen with their lines for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Bruins, to avoid their opponents using the matchup advantage to hyperfocus on the super line, they can switch Nylander and Robertson to spread out the offense.<\/p>\n In a Leafs season mired in mystery surrounding what the lineup will look like without Marner, and one that hasn\u2019t been off to a great start for the team, Robertson\u2019s potential emergence could be a game changer. Whether this is sustainable is a question that still needs to be answered, as well as whether he is just a complementary top-six player or a play-driving one. But after showcasing what he was capable of early on in his career, he may finally be living up to that potential.<\/p>\n And with Matthews\u2019 status up in the air after sustaining an injury in Tuesday\u2019s loss, there may still be more room to grow \u2013 or fail \u2013 for Robertson. He certainly won\u2019t lose minutes without the captain in the lineup, but will the shakeup mean Robertson\u2019s not playing with Tavares or Nylander? But also, a vacancy in the top power play unit needs to be filled, and perhaps Robertson gets that opportunity. In a season where he\u2019s succeeded with every chance to prove himself, it feels like that will only continue should Matthews miss some time.<\/p>\n Shepherd earned the honor after blocking a 48-yard field goal attempt by Carolina Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzgerald in 17-7 win.<\/p>\n The National Football League announced today that New Orleans Saints defensive tackle\u00a0Nathan Shepherd has been named the Week 10 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. It is the first conference player of the week honor for Shepherd in his eight-year NFL career.<\/p>\n Shepherd, 6-4, 315, was originally a third round selection (72nd overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets out of Fort Hays State, joining the Black and Gold as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. He earned the special teams honor after blocking a 48-yard field goal attempt by Carolina Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzgerald in the third quarter of the contest, with the\u00a0Saints holding onto a 10-7 edge in Sunday\u2019s 17-7 win at Bank of America Stadium. In addition to his heroics on special teams, Shepherd enjoyed a productive afternoon on defense, recording two solo stops and one sack, playing a pivotal role in a run-stopping effort where the Saints defense allowed only 73 yards rushing on 23 attempts (3.2 avg.).<\/p>\n Shepherd is enjoying a productive season in his third campaign in New Orleans. In ten games with six starts, he has posted 29 tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 21 yards and his first career blocked field goal. His tackle and sack totals lead the Saints front line.<\/p>\n In his eight-year career, Shepherd has played in 116 games with 48 starts and recorded 227 tackles (115 solo), 12.5 sacks, 22 stops for a loss and one blocked field goal. This is the second conference player of the week honor by a Saint this season, with cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry earning Week Five NFC Defensive Player of the Week, and the third straight campaign a Saint has earned league weekly Special Teams honors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson (89) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images When Nick Robertson scored in his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t