Stars Winger Shines Bright in Top 20 List

NHL Network released their Top 20 Wings Right Now list and the Dallas Stars were represented near the top of the list. 

Stars forward Jason Robertson ranked sixth, with the only players above him being Nikita Kucherov, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikko Rantanen, David Pastrnak and Artemi Panarin. Robertson is behind a list of who's who of goal scorers and play-makers in the NHL.

Ironically enough, Robertson's numbers for the 2023-24 season could be considered a "down year" by point production standard. The season before, Robertson recorded 109 points in 82 games. While his role on the first line did not change, his ice time and role did. The Stars no longer relied on the line of Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski to fully lead the way, giving the team the ability to role four solid lines. This affected Robertson's ice time and responsibility of playing in important minutes, which ultimately also reflected in his point totals for the 2023-24 season. At nearly a point-per-game, Robertson posted 29 goals and 80 points. 

Every player except Tkachuk recorded at least 20+ points more than Robertson did last season, and Kucherov put up a massive 144 points in 81 games. Even people lower than Robertson on the Top 20 list tallied more points, but that is just a testament to the roster the Stars had the luxury of rolling with. 

With the change in Robertson's role, he was able to develop his defensive game, making him an even bigger threat on the ice. He is able to play a 200 foot game and use his hockey IQ on both ends of the ice. 

This upcoming season will be the first season since essentially Robertson's debut that he won't have Joe Pavelski on his line. One might think there could be some difficulties trying to fill the void of Pavelski, but towards the end of the season and in the playoffs, Stars coach Pete DeBoer was able to slot players like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven and Matt Duchene in on that line without issue. Robertson's production should not slow down next season, especially as he gets more experience under his belt. 

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