By all accounts, the beginning of Nick Robertson's career has been anything but smooth, and in fact, it may be called laughable. The brain farts and constant mistakes are glaring, and their is a reason that Sheldon Keefe sits him more than he plays him.

Fast forward to Sunday evening, when the Maple Leafs visited Raleigh to play the Carolina Hurricanes. Another one of Robertson's blunders was on full display, or was it?

With about five and a half minutes left in the second period, Robertson tried to bat a puck down in front of Canes Brady Skjei and appeared to catch him in the face with his stick; however, replays show that the puck itself may have hit the defenseman in the face.




Robertson has factored into forty-six of Toronto's seventy games this season and you can speculate all you want as to whether Sheldon Keefe has a lack of trust in the twenty-two-year-old left winger or it's simply been a numbers game. However, it should be pointed out that Robertson redeemed himself later in the game, which brought the Maple Leafs within one; unfortunately, it was too little to late, and they fell short.

If the Maple Leafs have a long-term plan for Nick Robertson, he may be heating up at the right time to showcase what he truly can offer, as he's scored twice in the last five games. However, this simply may be a ploy to allow the rest of the league to see what he can offer as he is in the last year of his entry-level deal before he becomes an RFA.