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Oil Kings' Matthew Robertson invited to world junior selection camp

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Twelve months ago, Matthew Robertson was signing an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers.

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And over the next month, he will be looking to earn himself the privilege of wearing the Maple Leaf at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship at the end of the year.

But the 12 months in between have been about as up and down as things could possibly get for the talented Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman.

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“It’s been a long off-season,” said the six-foot-three, 203-pound Sherwood Park product heading into his fourth Western Hockey League season. “A lot of off-season workouts, a lot of skates and skill sessions to kind of prepare us for an unknown date.

“I think the hardest part was not knowing when to be at your prime, with specific dates and knowing when to prepare for. Now, with a date to prepare for, I’m really looking forward to it.”

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Assuming the WHL will be able to go ahead with its delayed start to the season in January, it will finally allow Robertson and the Oil Kings to look ahead, instead of what could have been in the season behind them.

After all, they were leading the Eastern Conference and had their sights set on a nice, long playoff run when the season got pulled out from underneath them by COVID-19.

“I try not to think about it too much, it was definitely pretty tough,” Robertson recalled. ‘We had a really good team last year and I think we had the potential to go all the way. It’s pretty saddening that we didn’t get the chance to do that.

“But there were other important things at hand with the health and safety of others right now. It’s big motivation coming into camp just not knowing what we could have accomplished last year at the end of the season. We have another good team coming into this year, and that’s definitely the goal, going all the way again.”

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But before picking things up where he left off with the Oil Kings, Robertson is looking to get picked up by Team Canada with the world juniors taking place on hometown ice beginning Christmas Day.

“It’s big motivation coming up now with the world junior selection camp coming up in November, that’s a huge bonus for me and I’m looking forward to the opportunity I get to try and make that team,” Robertson said of the immensity of the chance to represent his country in junior hockey’s biggest stage. “When my agent first told me, I was super stoked and really excited, especially just having gone through the summer (development) virtual camp with them.

“It’s a huge opportunity and it’s something you dream of as a kid, is playing for Team Canada at the world juniors and playing for gold. I’ve looked forward to hopefully getting the opportunity to play for them throughout my whole life. I’m finally getting it now and I’m just really looking forward to it and thankful for everyone who’s helped me get to this point.”

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With the WHL out of action so far, the selection process has had to evolve.

“I don’t know if that helps or makes it worse, but I think it will definitely be a lot different this year not having any (WHL) games played in seven months now,” he said. “But I think it will be good going into a competitive environment again to kind of get the juices flowing and getting to compete against the best players from across Canada at our age.

“It is a different process this year, it’s a lot longer camp, but I think it will be good.”

The 25 players who end up getting selected out of the 46 invitees to the Red Deer camp won’t have any time to celebrate, considering they’ll be facing teams from Europe and Russia that haven’t been nearly as idle throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“It will be different for us, but I think it will be a good opportunity to prove ourselves and kind of get back in mid-season game shape,” Robertson said. “And we’ll no doubt become closer with each other in this extended camp.”

Robertson will look to draw from his experiences donning the Maple Leaf at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, the IIHF under-18 world championships and on the way to a gold medal on his home ice at the 2018 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.

“I was fortunate enough to win gold with Canada at the U-18s and a lot of guys that were there are at the selection camp,” Robertson said. “So, it definitely helps with the process and feeling more comfortable and confident going into camp kind of knowing Hockey Canada’s process and what they’re looking for.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt having a preview of the next level with a Rangers prospects camp and main camp under his belt already.

“No, it definitely doesn’t hurt at all,” said Robertson, who was drafted in the second round (49th overall) in 2019. “I think that helped me a lot with my game and knowing what I have to improve on to go to the next level and really play with the big boys.

“I’ve actually been contacted by their player-development team throughout the summer, usually a couple times a month. It’s been good.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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