Defenseman Matthew Robertson may be ready to take next step with Rangers

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – When the Rangers’ veterans report to training camp next week, there don’t figure to be many – if any – spots available for new hopefuls trying to make the opening night roster. So most, if not all, of the players who were on ice at the team’s practice facility Wednesday for the first day of rookie camp likely will be starting the season with Hartford.

That would include defenseman Matthew Robertson, though he might be the one guy at rookie camp who may have a chance of earning a spot with the Rangers, who open the season Oct. 12 in Buffalo.

“He's in a good spot,’’ John Lilley, the Rangers' director of player personnel and amateur scouting, said of Robertson. “He's developed in Hartford, he's done a good job. He's had some good moments. Another big week ahead for him, and he'll be ready for main camp. But he's made growth over the last few years. So we're excited.’’

“I'm coming in here trying to make the team, but (I’m) just focusing on what I can control, and that's trying to get better each day,’’ Robertson said. “For me, it's just playing consistent, being hard to play against, and showing up every day and getting better.’’

Robertson, 22, was a second-round pick by the Rangers in 2019, and he’s played for Hartford for the last two seasons. A year ago there was an opening for a left side defenseman on the third pair. Zac Jones got the first crack at it out of training camp, and eventually, Libor Hajek got a chance, too.

Eventually, the Rangers decided to try someone else, and they brought up Ben Harpur from Hartford. Robertson spent the entire season in Hartford. He played 57 games, scoring five goals and 23 points.

That third-pair spot is open again this year, with Niko Mikkola’s departure as a free agent over the summer. Free agent signee Erik Gustafsson is the favorite to claim it, but Jones, Harpur and free agent addition Connor Mackey will get consideration for it, and the seventh spot, as well. If the 6-4, 211-pound Robertson has a strong camp, that could put him in the mix, too.

Robertson is fully healthy this fall, after an upper-body injury ended his season early last year and cost him a chance to play in the AHL playoffs. The injury, he said, helped him grow. It forced him to get into the gym earlier and allowed him to prepare for this season by lifting weights and getting stronger.

“I was playing some of my best hockey before I got hurt,’’ Robertson said. “The team was doing really well; I was doing really well. I started to trend in the right direction. It was unfortunate that I got hurt, but it's part of the game.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.