Rangers defenseman Matthew Robertson getting regular starts

SALT LAKE CITY — With every game he plays, Matthew Robertson looks more and more like a legitimate, solid NHL defenseman.

The 24-year-old rookie, a second-round draft pick in 2019, finally made the Rangers’ roster out of training camp this year, starting out as the seventh defenseman. Through injury and his solid play, he seems to have moved up in the pecking order and has become a steady member of the top six.

When the Rangers faced the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night in the finale of their three-game road trip, Robertson played his 14th game of the season and his fifth in a row.

But after spending the first four years of his pro career with AHL Hartford before finally making his NHL debut at the end of last season, Robertson isn’t about to call himself an NHL regular just yet.

“I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve made it yet,’’ he said after the Rangers’ morning skate Saturday. “I’m taking it day-by-day. I mean, every day is a new day. You’ve got to prove yourself every time you’re on the ice. I mean, it’s a tough league. It’s a tough schedule this year too, and [you’re] trying to bring your ‘A’ game every game and shut down top players every game.’’

He’s doing just that.

“What we’ve liked about his game is, he defends hard with his mobility and his stick and he brings an element of physicality,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a good-sized kid. And when he’s physical and he closes on people, he kills plays, whether it be off the rush or in the corners, and he’s hard at the net front, he can be an effective defenseman for us.’’

The soft-spoken Robertson, who hails from Edmonton, walks around the locker room as though he still isn’t sure he belongs. That’s by design, he said. He purposely wants to stay humble.

“I think the biggest thing for me is not being comfortable, because I know how hard it was to get here [and] how easy it is to go back to the AHL or to get sent down, be out of the lineup,’’ he said. “[So I am] just being grateful for the opportunity I have right now and making the most of it.’’

Ultimately, he said, all those years he spent in the minors were good for him to prepare him for playing in the NHL.

“I honestly think it helped,’’ he said. “I think the biggest part for me was mentally. I feel like I had the skills and size. Just, I think for me mentally, just being ready, and . . . trying to bring my ‘A’ game each and every night, I think that was the biggest thing, just bringing that consistency.’’

As for making the jump from the AHL to the NHL, Robertson said he is learning new things with every game he plays.

“You’ve got to defend certain players differently,’’ he said. “There’s some of the best players in the world on every team. So [you have to be] ready for each challenge each and every day.’’

Notes & quotes: D Will Borgen missed his second straight game and third in the last four with an upper-body injury . . . Jonathan Quick started in goal . . . D Urho Vaakanainen was the only healthy scratch, his fourth consecutive scratch.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.