Dallas Stars happy to draft Jason Robertson, a first-round talent in second round

CHICAGO — The Dallas Stars went into the second round of the NHL Entry Draft with a firm belief they’d still be able to draft a first-round talent with 39th overall pick.

Turns out they were right after picking Kingston Frotenacs left wing Jason Robertson, a scoring winger that had 42 goals and 81 points in the OHL last season.

“We had him rated in our first round,” Stars director of amateur scouting Joe MacDonnell said. “He’s a kid that was on our radar … we’re excited that he brings a lot to the table.”

So why was Robertson available early in the second round?

It all comes down to his skating technique. Robertson has good speed once he gets going, but his first couple strides need to be tweaked and it would probably behoove him to work with a skating coach to hammer out the deficiencies in his game.

“Everybody needs to work on something and I need to work on that,” Robertson said. “It’s something I’m always going to keep working on and then after that the opportunity is wide open for me to get better.”

Once you look past the skating, which can be fixed with hard work, there is a lot to like with the Stars second-round pick.

Robertson has an elite shot and a big-game mentality. There were times this past season with Kingston that he was the lone offensive option, and even with the added attention from defenders he still averaged more than a point per game.

“I think with some added strength it’s just going to get better,” MacDonnell said. “His hockey IQ and hands around the net are pretty good.”

For Robertson, who is still 17, getting selected was another step in a lengthy hockey journey.

He grew up in California as the middle child in a family of hockey players. On days that all three brothers had practice the family would park an RV outside of the rink, and Robertson would get his homework done while his brothers practiced.

“I have some good memories in that RV,” he said.

Robertson eventually moved to Michigan, where his dad is originally from, before deciding to the OHL route with his development and getting drafted by Kingtson.

Now he’ll be making his first trip to Texas, likely in early July for Stars development camp, and Robertson said he’s looking forward to being part of the Stars system — even if he didn’t think they would draft him.

“They didn’t talk to me at the combine, so I was kind of surprised,” Robertson said. “But I guess they knew enough to draft me.”