"The Waiting is Over!" After he was selected in the second round (No. 49 overall) of the 2019 draft, defenseman Matthew Robertson made his long awaited NHL debut Monday night in the New York Rangers 5-3 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers .
And it was worth the six-year wait.
Injuries and inconsistent growth to his all-around game hindered Robertson's development. He's in his fourth professional season; and though he was once a top prospect, it was a surprise that Robertson was offered a contract last summer after his entry-level deal expired.
But after setting career highs with 24 assists and 25 points with their AHL affiliate in Hartford this season, the time was now for the Rangers
to see what the 6-foot-4 smooth-skating defenseman has in the best league in the world. So, after the Rangers were officially eliminated from playoff contention Saturday and defenseman Braden Schneider
was ruled out for the final two games with an upper-body injury, Robertson was recalled from Hartford
.
Robertson found himself thrust into a pairing with New York's No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox
and in the starting lineup against the Panthers. The lineup decision almost had an immediate " Ivan Demidov
" level impact when Robertson joined the rush on the first shift of his career. J.T. Miller
found Robertson trailing down the slot off a zone entry just 10 seconds into the game. Robertson, who had only one goal with Hartford this season, fired and just missed the far post.
"Great pass by J.T. on the first shift. I gotta bury that," Robertson told reporters postgame , while grinning ear-to-ear following his debut. "It's been my dream to wear the red, white & blue since getting drafted in 2019. There's a lot of emotions going on just stepping on the ice wearing the jersey. A lot of emotions and a lot of nerves. I was just very excited and proud of my family and everyone that's helped me get here."
While Demidov looked poised to be a star in this league for the Montreal Canadiens in his debut Monday, Robertson showed a lot of confidence out of the gate, too. For a Rangers team with limited young options on the back end on the way up, there's reason to believe this is a kid who takes pride in whatever role the Rangers can offer heading into next season pending how they handle the offseason.
"He was really good. He's a big guy that moves well. Played really well down in Hartford so to get him up into some games is really good" Rangers coach Peter Laviolette stated postgame . "Would have been nice if he scored on that first shift. He made a heck of a shot. Bobrovsky just got a piece of the pad on it. But overall really good".
The Rangers could've easily taken the bait of Calvin de Haan's recent comments to satisfy the veterans' desire to play Monday. That said, it's telling the Rangers understand the need to explore what they have in Robertson as opposed to a veteran like de Haan who will walk as a UFA this offseason.
Then there's the case of Carson Soucy , the defenseman, who played on the third pair Monday, is signed through next season and brings much more experience than Robertson but a similar build and skillset.
With the cap crunch in full effect, has Soucy shown enough to justify his $3.25 million salary cap hit next season compared to what Zac Jones and Matthew Robertson showed with some ice time last night? Hard to tell playing against a depleted Panthers lineup. But neither Robertson nor Jones looked out of place, that's for sure.
Each is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Jones is the better known commodity, with 114 games of NHL experience, and could be a target for an offer sheet from another organization.
But Robertson is a wild card. He could be re-signed to compete for a job in New York or remain a depth option in Hartford. Or the Rangers may not qualify him, in which case he'd become an unrestricted free agent.
Related: How Rangers' Vincent Trocheck was unfairly snubbed in NHLPA player poll
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
In just over 15 minutes of ice time, all at even strength, and finishing a plus-1 in a rare Rangers victory against a team with an elite structure, it's a solid start for Robertson. The Rangers have had a tough time getting pucks through to the net all season, but Robertson showed off his heavy clapper on his second shot of the game without any hesitation off the draw,. He displayed an urgency from the point to try to catch an elite goalie like Sergei Bobrovsky off guard. So fast, the camera didn't even get to his shot in time before Bobrovsky swallowed it up.
Perhaps Robertson's most telling play that showed off his poise came on the J.T. Miller goal in the second period. Though he didn't record a point, Roberston did a flawless job controlling the gap on a Florida transition attempt with the Rangers trailing 3-2 and the period winding down. Scooping the puck in the neutral zone and taking it back to create time to maybe make something out of nothing.
With Florida on the forecheck and Fox as a d-partner, most rookies probably dish it off to him with their backs to the opposing net while Fox has time and space to do his thing. Instead, Robertson looked him off and back-peddled into the Rangers zone, which Florida as a unit maybe respected too much, since some skaters headed off for a change.
Robertson turned and hit Chris Kreider for a pass along the near side wall in the neutral zone, only made available with his poise on the play. Kreider quickly found Mika Zibanejad at the far blue line that created a 2-on-1 due to the change, and he found Miller for a tap-in goal back door to tie the game 3-3.
It's only one play in one game, but a play that shows Robertson's not afraid to make a difference right after a Rangers failed forecheck against a solid and tenacious defensive team. It's also no secret that when you have big solid defenseman that's confident on his skates, especially with the puck, those teams are always a hard out in a playoff series.
We'll see how he builds off this performance, assuming he gets another chance in the season finale Thursday night at home against another playoff team in the Tampa Bay Lightning . But this was certainly a game to build off of for Robertson to boost his value at the NHL level. Whether that's with the Rangers next season or another club.
