WaFd Weekly Warmup is happy to start the proceedings. Consider Dallas forward Jason Robertson, who is making a late run at rookie-of-the-year honors. Calder Cup frontrunner Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild has a rookie-high 23 goals and 20 assists in 50 games while Robertson has notched 15 goals and a rookie-high 25 assists in 46 games. Of note: Kaprizov is 24 years old and Robertson is 21.
Robertson is just the third NHL player of Filipino descent drafted into the league. His mother was born in Manila before moving to California as a youngster. Robertson's brother, Nick, who plays for Toronto, is the second Filipino player on record and Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba was the first with Filipino heritage.
The Robertsons were born in Los Angeles and fell in love with the sport because their father and grandfather had season tickets for the Los Angeles Kings.
"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," Jason Robertson told ESPN national hockey writer Emily Kaplan. "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."
