Robertson of Stars gives back to military families

DALLAS -- It's not hard to measure the impact Jason Robertson has made on the Dallas Stars.

The 23-year-old forward leads them in goals (41), points (88), power-play points (30) and game-winning goals (six).

With 12 games remaining this season, Robertson is five points shy of tying the Stars single season record of 93, set by Mike Modano (50 goals, 43 assists) in 1993-94.

Robertson is a big reason the Stars are first in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild, entering their home game against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; BSSW, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW).

"It's hard to think of individually," Robertson said Monday. "Being a humble hockey player, it's a team game out there. It's hard to really look at it and have those aspirations. You're not doing anything by yourself. You're scoring goals, but someone sets you up, someone does something else. It's a team sport, so it's hard to take credit with your own milestones and achievements when you have three, four, five other guys on the ice that contribute to that."

It's that approach that has made Robertson such an important member of the Dallas community off the ice as well.

On Monday, that impact was front and center at American Airlines Center when Robertson hosted his first ever on-ice clinic for military families with children between the ages of 8 and 14 who play hockey.

It's a cause that's been important to Robertson ever since he played for Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League.

"When I was in Kingston, we lived right on a military base, so we had a big military community and my billet dad was really involved with the kids whose families were in the military and did a lot of programs with them," Robertson said. "So it kind of started there, and obviously when I moved down to Dallas and Texas is heavily military community too, my dad and I wanted to do something together and pick something to do that's kind of a little bit different than the normal stuff."

Selected by Stars in the second round (No. 39) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Robertson was in the NHL for one season when he approached the Dallas Stars Foundation to set up JR's Heroes, which selects children of currently deployed military members or those that have lost a loved one while serving overseas. Each home game, the selected child and their family receives game tickets, parking, food and beverage vouchers, and jerseys that Robertson provides. After the game, each family gets a personal meet-and-greet with Robertson.

On Monday, those kids got to skate with him.

"Just trying to have a good time to be able to go to their schools and say, 'We skated with NHL players Jason Robertson, Nils Lundkvist, Wyatt Johnston. We skated at the AAC, the big stadium,' because I'm sure the majority of the kids have never been on the ice in this big of a stadium," Robertson said. "They get to say that, brag about it a little bit, and make them feel special. It goes a lot more along the way than just skating on the ice today. It creates a memory for them, for their parents, and for their families."

While Robertson skated on the ice with the children, Marty Turco, the former Stars goalie and current president of the Dallas Stars Foundation, sat on the bench and observed him volunteering on his night off after returning from a 12-day, six-game road trip the day before.

"The impact on our community is huge," Turco said. "The impact he makes even on our team and his teammates I think is equally as important. There's nothing more important than these players playing in the NHL and winning and being successful. But it says a lot when they can do that and just make a tremendous impact [off the ice]. He's a professional athlete that's looked up upon, and the fact that he does something with his notoriety, I think he deserves all the credit that he gets and then some.

"We're all better for having him on our team, on and off the ice."