Filipino-American NHL star Jason Robertson relishes his status as a role model for Asian kids
- The 22-year-old left winger, whose mother was born in the Philippines, has cemented himself as one of the Dallas Stars’ top players
- NHL players of Asian descent are fast making their mark in the league and showcasing the sport’s growing diversity and multiculturalism
The sophomore slump is a common plight for athletes in any sport, however it’s quite clear it doesn’t apply to Filipino-American Jason Robertson.
The Dallas Stars left winger, whose mom Mercedes was born in the Philippines, is averaging more than a point a game through 23 games in the NHL this season, just his second in the league.
During the 2020-21 campaign, Robertson, who stands 190cm and weighs 90 kgs, was a Calder trophy finalist for rookie of the year, and has now solidified himself as one of the top wingers in the entire league.
The 22-year-old’s mother Mercedes immigrated to the US with her family when she was three years old as the youngest of six children. Robertson’s deceased grandfather, Lee Dano, left behind a career as a lawyer in Manila to be a taxi driver and real estate title officer in America.
After being drafted 39th overall by the Stars in 2017, Robertson, in speaking to reporters, said he knew he was already going to be seen as a role model for minority kids playing ice hockey in the US before he made his NHL debut.
“They said, ‘You know, just because of this, you’re a role model for all the young kids coming up,’” Robertson told The Dallas Morning News in an interview. “Now that I think about it, it’s pretty impressive.”
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Robertson’s father Hugh is of Scottish descent and hails from Michigan, and noted his dream was to watch his son play at the iconic Staples Centre in Los Angeles, which is now known as the Crypto.com arena.
A dream that is now realised and Robertson said before watching his younger brother Nick get drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, he got another reminder of how important he can be to a new generation of hockey talent being fuelled by a massive rise in multiculturalism across North America.
While training in California, one of the coaches at the rink brought a young South Korean-American player up to meet Robertson.
“He’s like, ‘This kid looks up to you because you’re Asian and there’s not a lot of Asians that play in the NHL, who make it somewhere,’” Robertson said of the conversation. “At that time, I thought, that’s something that I can be a role model towards. Not a lot of people can do that.”
On top of that he noted he was also approached by a group of Canadian-Filipino boys in Toronto who also said they look up to him because of his heritage.
“I did not realise with all the hustle and bustle of life and the hockey chaos how important it was until people started to point it out,” said Robertson’s mom Mercedes. “With them, I’m actually really proud because they are embracing it and they really understand how exciting it is. Since hockey is not typical for the Asian community, it’s not a permission but almost like ‘Hey, it can be more than just the normal, typical sports that you see. Now, there’s hockey.’”
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Robertson said he already felt a kinship with the two and takes any opportunity he can to chat with them and other players with similar mixed heritage.
“You see an Asian hockey player, I feel like there’s always a connection right there,” Robertson said in an interview. “It’s weird, but you just feel comfortable talking to with them.”
