The Filipino community has long had some bright stars to root for, whether it be Lea Solanga, Oscar-winning actress and the singing voice of Princess Jasmine and Mulan, or one of the most enthralling boxing champs of all time Manny Pacquiao. Among the newest names on that ever-growing list of Filipino prides is Jason Robertson, and he’s attained a feat that even many Filipinos may be surprised by: he’s the leading goal scorer in the NHL. Yes, that’s right, the National Hockey League.

Jason Robertson, who plays pro hockey for the Dallas Stars, now has 22 goals, taking the goal-scoring lead over Connor McDavid Friday, Nov. 25, when he scored two goals against the Winnipeg Jets.

Here are some must know facts about (half) Filipino and (pretty much) LA-native Jason Robertson:

Jason Robertson’s age, family, Filipino and Scottish heritage, height and nickname

Robertson’s mother Mercedes was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. with her family to escape the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the early 1970s when she was 3. When they arrived in California, they naturally rooted for the Lakers, reports The Dallas Morning News, as basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines.

Hockey isn’t a popular Filipino sport, and Jason can likely owe his affinity for hockey to his father, Hugh Robertson, who’s of Scottish descent and a huge hockey fan. He introduced the sport to his kids.

Jason was born July 22, 1999, which makes him 23 years old. He’s no slouch either — his height is 6’3″ and his nickname is “Robo.” He has four siblings, including older brother Michael and younger brother Nicholas, and sisters Alex and Brianne.

Here is Jason’s mom Mercedes with his younger brother Nicholas:

He’s from Los Angeles, where he started his love of hockey

Jason Robertson was born in Arcadia, and growing up his family would regularly go to LA Kings games as they were season ticket holders. The kids were so into it Hugh decided to put them on ice skates in Burbank, which led to them excelling — Jason would eventually even play for the Junior Kings, reports LA Times.

Eventually, Hugh would take his family back to his native Michigan where they would have more access to ice sports like hockey. So while Jason left Southern California at age 10, we think that’s good enough for us to claim him for LA, just in case we needed even more reasons to root for him.

Jason’s brother Nicholas Robertson is also a hockey phenom, and his sister Brianne is a jiujitsu pro

Jason has a lot of athletic competition in his family.

His younger brother Nicholas was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leaves in 2019 and became one of the youngest players in NHL history. He was born September 11, 2001, making him 21 years old today, and he’s 5’9″.

Jason’s sister, Brianne Robertson, is a jiujitsu professional and had the opportunity to play Division 1 lacrosse.

He’s already an inspiration to Filipino and other Asian-Americans

As you could imagine, there hasn’t been too many Asian NHL role models. Just 37 Asian players have ever made the NHL, of those six are Filipino. Only 14 Asian players are currently in the league, and Jason, his brother Nicholas and Devin Shore of the Edmonton Oilers are the only three Filipinos.

Jason Robertson is already serving as inspiration for the next generation. NHL.com relays the story that Jason’s father, Hugh Robertson told him about two girls of Japanese descent that came to watch Jason play:

“The girls were never exposed to hockey ever. They didn’t know what it was. So they go, and Jason had a pretty good game, and for Dallas it was a really good game. We get a text the next day, and the 12-year-old told the dad that when she grows up she wants to be an NHL player. The 10-year-old girl said she’s a big hockey fan and just wants to watch Dallas all the time now.”

He’s a goal scoring machine

Holding the record for most goals scored can be attributed to his huge offensive versatility and lumbering height.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer relayed this to The Dallas Morning News: “Robo is a guy that’s honestly hard to defend because he scores in a bunch of different ways. He can score off the rush, he scores kind of lurking around the quiet areas of the ice waiting for the puck to come to him. It always seems to come to him. Tougher to defend a guy like that isn’t predictable.”

 

 

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