As Robertson's confidence grows, so does his impact on Stars

DALLAS -- Sunday was the one-month anniversary of Jason Robertson's first goal -- and what a month it has been.
The 21-year-old rookie tallied his first marker in a fortuitous manner. He drove to the net in a Feb. 7 game against Chicago, a Miro Heiskanen shot deflected off the glove of Chicago goalie Malcolm Subban, and then deflected off of Robertson's hip and back past Subban and into the net.

It wasn't the prettiest goal ever, but it was a great sign for the young forward that going to the net is a good plan. It also was a great confidence boost for a player who was participating in just his fourth game of the season. Since that bounce, Robertson has logged 11 games and tallied three goals and five assists for eight points. On Sunday, Robertson had a goal, an assist, and a shootout goal, helping the Stars come back from a 3-0 deficit before losing a 4-3 shootout game to the Nashville Predators.
All three scoring plays were impressive, as Robertson looked skilled, poised and confident. It was quite a statement for a young player who seems to be "getting it."
"He's an offensive player, talented and very confident in his abilities," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Robo's got tremendous offensive skills and vision, and the confidence to back it up. We have to make sure he is with the right players because the defensive side of the game will improve, but, again, we are asking an awful lot from these kids.

"We need to play them. They are going to play, and he will keep getting better."
Getting better has been the storyline for Robertson this month. Yes, he was a high draft pick (39th overall in 2017) and, yes, he led the OHL in scoring in 2018-19 with 117 points (48 goals, 69 assists) in 62 games. But it's still a big jump up to the NHL.
Robertson said his first year of pro hockey taught him a lot. He played 60 games with the Texas Stars last season and had 47 points (25 goals, 22 assist). He then went to the bubble with the Dallas Stars and worked in practice for two months with the NHL players.
All of that has allowed him to get to a pretty comfortable place in his head.
"My confidence comes not just from succeeding offensively, but being a complete pro on both sides of the ice," he said. "My confidence comes from how much I am playing. I am playing a good amount of ice time, so I know I am doing pretty good, I think, and trying to be the best player I can be whether that be offensively or defensively. Bones puts a lot of trust in me because he plays me quite a bit during these times, but I am just trying to make the most out of it and give our team the best chance to win."

That confidence from the coaching staff has been displayed in time on ice, and also in being put in key situations. Bowness had Robertson on the ice with the goalie pulled in the final minute Sunday, and Robertson whipped in a perfect shot to tie the game. He then was the first shooter in the shootout for Dallas, and he converted his chance there, as well.
Robertson had a shootout attempt earlier in the year and was stopped, so he said he studied that play, worked on a few things, and then was much better on Sunday.
"I knew what I was going to do before I came in," he said. "The first time, I came straight in and put too much pressure on myself trying to score. Going into my second time, after overlooking the other one, I was more confident in knowing what I wanted to do and picking my spot."
It was a great sign of just what a smart and calm scorer Robertson can be. Scoring goals is maybe the toughest thing an NHL player has to do, and scoring consistently puts you in a very high class of player. Stars veteran Joe Pavelski said the fact Robertson is becoming a go-to guy on the shootout is a great sign for him.
"I was actually telling him, because he was starting, that you've got to score; you've got to score early," Pavelski said. "If you score early in your career, you get off to a hot start and you tend to get to go the rest of your career. I remember one of my first couple; actually, one of my first ones. It was probably [in Dallas] against [Marty] Turco. I think it was high glove or high blocker. You remember things like that, and I think I scored my first handful, and next thing you know you are going every time."

Pavelski said there is a real vibe that grows inside a player that is visible to coaches, teammates and opponents.
"It was awesome to see Robo go," Pavelski said. "He has been playing good and he has been developing. I think he's figuring it out. These back-to-back games are big steps for the kids in finding their legs, and they are never easy for anyone, but there is definitely an adjustment period at times. So, it was good to see him step up at the end with the big goal and get a big shootout goal first."
It's part of a process that happened very quickly.
"Going over the film for these past couple weeks and talking to different people and seeing how much more time I actually have, certainly gives me more confidence while I have the puck knowing that I can hold on to it and make more plays," Robertson said a couple of weeks back.
On Sunday, he showed just what he was talking about.

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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.