Nick Robertson’s race to make OHL history

Nick Robertson is having a fabulous year with the Peterborough Petes, and they are going for it this season with some key trades to add some scoring power. Robertson doesn’t need that much help to score though, as he leads the OHL with 55 goals in 46 games played.

ROBBY! @nickrob2001's second shorty of the afternoon, and 55th of the campaign! @hudson_wilson18 and @AkilThomas2 earn the helpers. 12-1 Petes!#GoPetesGo | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/j3oitKQzne
— 𝗫 - Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 8, 2020

With his 54th and 55th goals on Sunday, Robertson leapt up to to the top 30 overall in OHL goal scoring by U19 players. Robertson just turned 18 last September and he is about the same age as most players who are yet to be drafted, and for a player his age, his season is spectacular. How high can he go on that all-time list? He’s got 6 games to add to his total, but the bar is set very high.

In 1980-1981, the first season of the OHL, future NHLer Tony Tanti scored 81 goals in 67 games. Like Robertson, he was born in September, so this was his season where he’d just turned 17, making his feat almost impossible to beat.

John Tavares couldn’t score more than Tanti. He’s second on the list with 72 goals scored when he was an exceptional 16-year-old. One goal behind Tavares at 71 is Eric Lindros who actually turned 18 during that season, so he was an old man compared to the other two.

After those three seasons, comes the performances of the mere mortals. And somewhere on this list is where Robertson will finish up. Note: list was made before Robertson blasted his way onto it.

OHL U19 Players 1980-present

Rank	Name	Season	Team	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	PPG	PIM
1	Tony Tanti (LW)	1980-1981	Oshawa Generals	67	81	69	150	2.24	197
2	John Tavares (C)	2006-2007	Oshawa Generals	67	72	62	134	2	60
3	Eric Lindros (C)	1990-1991	Oshawa Generals	57	71	78	149	2.61	189
4	Graeme Bonar (RW)	1984-1985	Soo Greyhounds	66	66	71	137	2.08	93
5	Corey Locke (C)	2002-2003	Ottawa 67's	66	63	88	151	2.29	83
6	Wayne Presley (RW)	1983-1984	Kitchener Rangers	70	63	76	139	1.99	156
7	Scott Tottle (RW)	1983-1984	Peterborough Petes	70	63	47	110	1.57	24
8	Patrick Kane (RW)	2006-2007	London Knights	58	62	83	145	2.5	52
9	Tony Tanti (LW)	1981-1982	Oshawa Generals	57	62	64	126	2.21	138
10	Vitali Yachmenyov (RW)	1993-1994	North Bay Centennials	66	61	52	113	1.71	18
11	John Tucker (C)	1982-1983	Kitchener Rangers	70	60	80	140	2	33
12	Dan Quinn (C)	1982-1983	Belleville Bulls	70	59	88	147	2.1	27
13	Wayne Groulx (C)	1983-1984	Soo Greyhounds	70	59	78	137	1.96	48
14	Jeff Shevalier (LW)	1992-1993	North Bay Centennials	62	59	54	113	1.82	46
15	Mario Simioni (LW)	1981-1982	Toronto Marlboros	68	58	60	118	1.74	88
16	Dave MacLean (RW)	1983-1984	Belleville Bulls	70	58	51	109	1.56	47
17	Steven Stamkos (C/W)	2007-2008	Sarnia Sting	61	58	47	105	1.72	88
18	John Tavares (C)	2008-2009	totals	56	58	46	104	1.86	54
-	-	-	London Knights	24	32	18	50	2.08	22
-	-	-	Oshawa Generals	32	26	28	54	1.69	32
19	Bob Wren (C)	1992-1993	Detroit Jr. Red Wings	63	57	88	145	2.3	91
20	Keith Primeau (C)	1989-1990	Niagara Falls Thunder	65	57	70	127	1.95	97
21	Tyler Toffoli (RW)	2010-2011	Ottawa 67's	68	57	51	108	1.59	33
22	Dave Andreychuk (LW)	1981-1982	Oshawa Generals	67	57	43	100	1.49	71
23	Jeff Vaive (C)	1981-1982	Ottawa 67's	68	56	95	151	2.22	90
24	Jon Sim (LW)	1995-1996	Sarnia Sting	63	56	45	101	1.6	130
25	Jason Allison (C)	1993-1994	London Knights	56	55	87	142	2.54	68
26	Dave Gagner (C)	1982-1983	Brantford Alexanders	70	55	66	121	1.73	57
27	Chris Gratton (C)	1992-1993	Kingston Frontenacs	58	55	54	109	1.88	125
28	Robert Cimetta (LW)	1988-1989	Toronto Marlboros	58	55	47	102	1.76	89
29	Jeff Larmer (LW)	1980-1981	Kitchener Rangers	68	54	54	108	1.59	103
30	Mike Ricci (C)	1988-1989	Peterborough Petes	60	54	52	106	1.77	43

He just passed Mike Ricci’s 54 goals scored for the same team. Ricci turned 17 just as that season began, making him another of the future stars who were very good very young. Robertson’s age 17 season wasn’t in that class. He’s not like Tavares or Tanti, who show up on this list twice. But no one on this list has as few games played either.

Robertson’s 56th goal will put him past Jason Allison, who retired a Toronto Maple Leafs player with 154 NHL goals.

His 57th goal will put him over Jeff Vaive. Vaive is one of the cautionary tales of looking at junior scoring phenoms. He’s our grain of salt today. Listed at 5’9” and 174 lbs, Vaive followed that season up with a second OHL season that was not quite as stellar. He was drafted in the 6th round after setting that mark, and never played in the NHL. He played for 10 years in the third- and second-tier German league. In Germany3, he had more than a goal per game over 226 games. That was the 80s and 90s though, and times have changed.

If Robertson can make it to 58 goals, he ties the lesser of Tavares’s seasons, the one he split between Oshawa and London. He was almost exactly Robertson’s age that year, and he was drafted after that season was over. Getting to 58 means sharing the stage with Steven Stamkos as well as Tavares, but to be the best American on this list, Robertson needs to make it all the way past Wayne Presley at 63 goals.

How high can he go? The top 25 all time, the top 20, the top 10?

Nick Robertson’s race to make OHL history

OHL U19 Players 1980-present

Monday FTB: Down the home stretch with 13 games to go

Tuesday’s FTB: Cheering Guide for March 10th

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