Maple Leafs Confirm Nick Robertson May Yet Lose His Roster Spot
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As training camp approaches, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube revealed that with the additions up front, Nick Robertson may very well lose his roster spot.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a handful of additions to the forward group this summer, bringing in Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua and Mattias Maccelli. The trio has given the Maple Leafs forward depth they have not seen in years and affords head coach Craig Berube an abundance of different combinations that he can tinker with.
Unfortunately, those additions and GM Brad Treliving's inability to find takers for Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf have pushed one forward to the brink of losing his roster spot.
In an in-depth interview with The Athletic's Jonas Siegel this week, Berube revealed that he is looking forward to a competitive training camp with a few players battling for roster spots.
One of those players is confirmed to be 23-year-old Nick Robertson, who signed another one-year deal with the Leafs in early August.
When asked about where Robertson fits in with all the new personnel, Berube indicated the former second-round pick will have to earn his spot.
"There's a lot of competition at camp. I'll leave it at that. There's a lot of competition at camp, which is great. I think it makes for a competitive camp and that's what we want, because that's gong to get us more prepared for the regular season. I don't have the answer to that right now. There's jobs available... it's a competition. You have to come in and play your ass off and earn a spot."
For Robertson, having to earn his spot is nothing new entering training camp. He has had to battle through competition in each of his first five seasons with the Leafs. Robertson skated in a career-high 69 games last season where he tallied 15 goals and 22 points and earned praise from Berube at times, but also found himself in the press box on occasion.
For Robertson, the Leafs know he can score, and they'll need secondary scoring without Marner, but he will have to find a way to be more consistent with his defensive play without the puck to earn a full-time roster spot.
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