Prospect Points: Felix Robert

It wasn’t surprising when the Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Felix Robert to an entry-level contract this summer.

The 5-foot-9-inch undrafted forward, fresh off his first two pro seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, had Lightning prospect — or project — written all over him.

“They have a good track record with players like him,” Robert’s agent Olivier Fortier of Momentum Hockey told Full Press Coverage via phone conversation in late September.

Over the years, the Bolts have carved out a niche for finding undersized and undervalued free agents and developing them in Syracuse — like Jonathan Marchessault and Yanni Gourde. It’s no wonder that — according to Fortier — of the handful of NHL teams that tabled Robert an offer, Tampa Bay expressed the most interest.

And, the 23-year-old Robert draws a lot of parallels to Gourde.

They both were overlooked during their QMJHL days, as neither of the two produced much offence until their late teens. They each spent time in the ECHL. They’re both renowned for their tireless work ethic and high-end hockey IQ. They signed their first NHL deals at the same age. And, despite their smaller statures, they both play with some bite.

“I’m sure at one point, they were both told they weren’t big enough,” said Milwaukee Admirals forward Tim Schaller, Robert’s teammate during the latter’s rookie pro season. “Guys like them, it burns inside when they hear that. It gives them more incentive to work harder when nobody’s watching.”

From the outside looking in, a quick HockeyDB search of Robert — who recorded 47 points in 90 AHL games (0.52 P/GP) through his first two years of pro — could leave one scratching their head as to how he earned an NHL contract. But if you take a deeper dive into his production and rely on the ol’ eye test, it paints a different picture.

Let’s start with the numbers.

For whatever reason, Robert didn’t play much on the power play or the penalty kill last season. But as you can see above, he was a high-end offensive contributor at even strength, and his 0.38 5v5 primary points per game tied him for 17th amongst U-23 players (min 15 GP).

“It’s harder to score at 5-on-5,” Schaller said. “So when you see a guy with those stats, it’s more impressive to me anyways.”

If you go back and watch Robert’s goals from last year, most of them were a byproduct of textbook fundamentals. Crashing the net hard. Having his stick in the right spots. Maintaining good positioning. His assists? They came via generating grade-A rebounds and feeding wide-open teammates with timely touch passes.

Points aside, Robert was a real difference maker at even strength, and his + 7.4 CF% Rel rating is a testament to that.

Robert does a good job driving play forward in the defensive and neutral zone, finding seams to hit his teammates as they’re running routes. Once the puck is in the offensive zone, he does a great job at applying and sustaining pressure on opponents’ defenders. He’s quick on loose pucks, and once he gains possession, he consistently makes a positive play thereafter. Robert isn’t the fastest skater, but he’s got an incredible motor that he puts to good use. You’ll never see him easing up on a backcheck.

“With his work ethic and all that, he makes it easy on himself because he works so hard that the game just kind of comes to him now,” Schaller said. 

Since turning pro, Robert has been one of the league’s best at generating even-strength scoring chances, clocking in at at least the 95th percentile in each of the last two seasons. He’s got a knack for tipping point shots and creating havoc in front while also proving capable of skating the puck into the slot and creating a shot attempt on his own.

“Felix, might not be the fastest kid, he might not be the biggest kid, but he’s got the awareness to be in the right spots whether it’s with the puck or without the puck,” Schaller explained. “He’s got that low centre of gravity, so he’s got puck control. He can hide the puck from D-men, get into those greasy areas, be a disturbance on the D-men and on the goalie in tight.” 

There may be no better AHL breakout candidate than Robert. He’s due to play more than the 14:42 TOI/GP he logged last year, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he were heavily deployed as a penalty killer in Syracuse, where his skillset could fit perfectly.

Ultimately, Robert is just scratching the surface. And if any team is a good bet to extract the most out of him, it’s Tampa Bay and its developmental pipeline in Syracuse.

Stats via Instat