Keep on keeping on: Robertson focused on staying consistent

One of the great lessons of my writing career was taught to me by Vernon Fiddler.

The veteran forward took a costly penalty in a regular-season game years ago and then rallied from it, made some big plays, and helped the Stars win that game.

In the postgame dressing room, I asked Fiddler if the penalty motivated him to play harder, and the look he gave me was chilling. It’s like your parents saying, “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.”

Fiddler explained to me that he always plays hard and he didn’t think he could play “harder,” and in that moment I realized just how tough a job this is. You are playing more than 100 games a year sometimes, you are playing in different venues, with different linemates, against different opponents and at different stages of physical and mental health. And yet, you are always trying to give your best.

The look in Fiddler’s eyes that day was sort of: You watch us every day, how can you not know that? And since then, I have tried to be better at it.

That memory came up on Saturday as we talked to Jason Robertson about the fact that he was left off of Team USA for the 2026 Olympics. The obvious storyline is how hard he worked, how disappointed he is, and whether this will motivate him to work even harder. And if you ask Vern Fiddler, he’ll tell you he knows the answer.

“I don’t think it’s any motivation. I don’t need that motivation,” Robertson said. “I have it within the team and within the group. Obviously, it hurts your ego, but I’m not going to change the way I play. I’m happy to keep doing what I’m doing.”

It’s an interesting dichotomy, really. Robertson was left off of Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, but he had foot surgery the previous summer and wasn’t playing his best during the selection process. This year, he has been at full health and ranks fifth in the NHL in goals at 24 and eighth in points at 48. He is currently among the top scorers among American-born players.

The easy thing to say is he was pushing his numbers up to open the eyes of Team USA, but the 26-year-old winger said it goes deeper than that.

“I think I just strive to be the best I can be, and it just so happened that this was an Olympic year,” Robertson said. “But that’s not going to stop me from doing that the rest of this season.”

And that is where the athletic ego comes into play. Robertson has been doing this for years, and the day-to-day motivation is more than enough for him. He probably spends as much time as any Stars player on the ice trying to hone his craft. He spends as much time as any on the iPad trying to better understand the nuances of the game.

It's why he is where he is. It’s why the Stars value him so highly. He needs a contract for next season, and that’s also a factor in all of this. It could weigh on his mind, but he said he doesn’t let it. All of this is part of the job, but he said the essence of all the peripheral stuff is the fact he gets to go on the ice every day.

“I love the game,” he said. “I just keep playing. I don’t have to think. I just love playing hockey.”

Truth be told, we don’t know what could happen. He could be called in as a replacement for Team USA and have a huge moment in Italy. He could go on vacation and come back and help the Stars win the Stanley Cup. Or he could end up on another team next season…and have to start another chapter in his career.

That’s why it’s best to live in the now and simply give everything you have every shift.

“That’s the best part of it,” Robertson said. “I get to play and enjoy it, and the other stuff takes care of itself.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.