"A week is better than a couple days, and he's in good shape," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said when asked about dealing with the realities of contracts and player availability. "He walked in, and he looks like he's been working really hard on the offseason. That's a good sign and I'll try and get him up to speed as quickly as we can."
Robertson won't play in the club's preseason finale on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
The 23-year-old had a breakthrough year last season with 41 goals among 79 points in 74 games. He was part of one of the best lines in the league with Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, and he was back on that line Friday. DeBoer said that while he still is open to experimenting, he'd be a fool to not at least put that line together and see what they can do.
By getting the top line in place, DeBoer can then start to see how his other lines fit. On practice Friday, he had Mason Marchment with Tyler Seguin and Wyatt Johnston, and Jamie Benn with Radek Faksa and Denis Gurianov. That could give the team three strong lines that could potentially score goals, and DeBoer said he'd like to find that balance.
"It changes our lineup obviously, changes our power play," DeBoer said of the return of Robertson. "He's an elite player. He had been with the group before, but to jump in mid-training camp like that after sitting for as long as he did, I'm pretty impressed with his skill level. He's excited to be here, the guys were excited he's here, so you can already see the difference he makes on the power play for us."
Because the team still has to make some decisions, players like Johnston can really help themselves with a good performance in this game. The 19-year-old has to play in the NHL or CHL this season. The AHL isn't an option because of an agreement the league has with the CHL. However, he could get nine games during the regular season before the team has to make a decision, and that means they might give him a longer look.
Also worth watching are the D pairs. Miro Heiskanen has played his natural left side for much of training camp, but he was shifted back to the right side with Ryan Suter for Friday's practice. Nils Lundkvist will once again play beside Esa Lindell while Thomas Harley will not play. That's another indication that Harley might start the season in the AHL.
In goal, Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood are expected to split time. Anton Khudobin cleared waivers on Saturday afternoon and is expected to start the season with the Texas Stars.
Tough decisions are being made, but the team is starting to come together, and adding Robertson is a big piece.
"We're a better team today than we were yesterday with him out there," DeBoer said.
