The second round of the NHL Draft is well underway, and the Dallas Stars wasted no time making their pick. They selected LW Jason Robertson at 39th overall.
Wake up and turn on the draft, Stars fans.
From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. today, the NHL will conduct rounds 2-7 of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Round two is already in the books and we’re only an hour in. The rest of the draft will only go by quicker, so turn it on while you can.
The Dallas Stars had one pick in the second round at 39th overall, and they were on the clock for no more than 10 seconds before they made their selection, drafting LW Jason Robertson of the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL.
The 17-year-old (yes, another 17-year-old gem) had a tremendous season in 2016-17 and lit up the scoreboard, tallying 42 goals and 81 points in 68 games. He also tore it up in the playoffs, scoring five goals and tallying 18 points in 11 games. He’s a natural scorer with solid hands and a lightning fast release.
Dallas Stars
But his talents do not stop there. He knows how to position himself perfectly in the offensive zone and find the open opportunity. Robertson is also a great setup man and knows how to make the smart pass when running a shift in the offensive zone. He’s durable and can be physical, considering his 6’2, 194 lb. frame.
Robertson was ranked #30 in Bob McKenzie’s scouting report on TSN and #31 by Hockeyprospect.com. His highest ranking was at #14 by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters. So why did he fall to the second round, you might ask?
His skating is the biggest factor in questioning. Robertson’s biggest problems are his speed and his athleticism while on skates. Some say that if his skating was stronger and up to par, he would have easily been a top-10 pick in the draft.
Here is what thebloggerstribune.com had to say about Robertson’s skating in their scouting report on him:
"The knock on Robertson is his skating. He looks clunky when he gets moving, and it takes him more strides than you’d like to get up to his top gear – but once he starts going, Robertson has decent north-south speed for someone his size. He’s never going to be called a burner, but worries about his skating are a little overblown.The acceleration is what needs the most work, but that is a part of the game players can definitely work to improve – and Robertson has shown that he has the work ethic necessary to fix the weakness."
Even with some deficiencies in skating, Robertson is still a dynamic player that scores goals and sets up teammates like nobody’s business. He’s a power forward who isn’t afraid to get physical on his way to the net.
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Give him a few years to improve his skating and the Dallas Stars could be looking at yet another big steal in the 2017 Draft. Nill knows what he’s doing.
Oh, and did we mention that the newest Star likes the Dallas Cowboys? We like him already.