DALLAS | The stars’ practice was officially over for at least fifteen minutes. With the vast majority of his teammates already out of the dressing room, Jason Robertson was still busy shooting pucks into the net.
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Usually this is the routine followed by injured players or those who are taken out of practice in the evening. Which is far from the case for the 23-year-old forward.
With 24 goals and 48 points, Robertson is easily the top scorer for the Dallas Stars. If he keeps moving the ropes at the same pace, he will surely be in contention for the Maurice Richard Trophy by the end of the season.
“That passion for the sport is what I love about it,” said Stars head coach Peter DeBoer.
“If you want to play a long time in this league, and I think he will, you have to have that passion. Many players are dying to get out after morning practice, DeBoer continued. He’s the guy who wants to refine his game 365 days a year. That side of him reminds me of Joe Pavelski. »
Kings fans
As a native Californian, it takes passion to climb the ladder to the best racetrack in the world. This season, the NHL lists only eight skaters and two goaltenders from that state. Among them are Jason and his younger brother Nicholas, who commutes between the Maple Leafs and the Toronto Marlies.
“My parents and grandparents were big Kings fans, so we used to go to their games a lot,” Robertson said when he finally got off the ice. At some point we told my father that we wanted to play hockey. It all started there. »
The only catch is that while hockey has been booming in recent decades, California has far fewer rinks than some states further north.
“They were often a good distance away. We had to fight traffic to get there. And then the rinks were available,” said the 2017 stars’ second-round pick.
All north
What followed was a series of impressive sacrifices by the Robertson family. Mother Robertson, originally from Manila, Philippines, first moved to Detroit with her sons.
“At the time, my father, originally from Detroit, was traveling back and forth to Los Angeles,” recalls Robertson, who was 10 at the time.
Then, five years later, the whole family crossed the northern border. Again specifically for ice hockey.
“I wanted to get drafted into the Ontario Junior Hockey League. So we moved to Toronto so I could play my first dwarf year in the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League). »
Apparently the plan worked as Jason was picked by the Frontenacs of Kingston, followed by Nicholas a few seasons later by the Petes of Peterborough.
“To make our dream come true, my parents had to make many sacrifices. I am very grateful to them. »
That recognition is probably not unrelated to all the overtime he spends practicing on the ice.