Tomáš Hertl

Tomáš Hertl
Born	(1993-11-12) November 12, 1993 Prague, Czech Republic
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	San Jose Sharks HC Slavia Praha
National team	Czech Republic
NHL Draft	17th overall, 2012 San Jose Sharks
Playing career	2011–present

Tomáš Hertl (born November 12, 1993) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. Hertl was selected 17th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Sharks. He is the first player born in the modern Czech Republic after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia to appear in an NHL game.

Prior to being drafted, Hertl played for HC Slavia Praha of the Czech Extraliga.

Playing career

Early career

Hertl started his playing career with HC Slavia Praha in the Czech Extraliga, playing on the U18 and U20 squads in 2009–10. He was the third-highest scorer on the U20 team, scoring 12 goals and 26 assists. On the U18 team, Hertl scored 13 goals and 10 assists. The next season, Hertl was among four players on the U20 team with 40+ points; Hertl had 14 goals and 27 assists. In 2011–12, Hertl was the fourth-leading scorer for Slavia, with 11 goals and 15 assists.^[1]

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Hertl fifth among European skaters before the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.^[1] Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir ranked Hertl as the 18th best prospect in the 2012 draft.^[2] ISS Hockey listed Hertl as the 32nd best, while The Hockey News and TSN scout Craig Button listed him as the 24th and 22nd best player, respectively.^[3] Among Hertl's advantages include his large body and a good physical and defensive play, which Muir compared to Martin Hanzal. However, Muir also wrote, "Hertl's not the most agile skater or finisher, and he has a tendency to try to do too much."^[2] Button stated that Hertl, although not particularly fast, his agility compensates for his speed; Hertl is also an effective passer and when "given the opportunity to shoot, he can be dangerous."^[3]

Hertl was drafted by the San Jose Sharks with 17th overall pick in the 2012 draft, and became the first European player drafted with the Sharks' top pick since Czech Lukas Kaspar was drafted in 2004.^[4] After being drafted, Hertl rejoined Slavia, scoring 30 points in 43 games.^[5]

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks officially signed Hertl to a three-year entry-level contract on June 3, 2013.^[6] In the preseason, Hertl scored 3 goals and 1 assist, and joined Joe Thornton and Brent Burns on a line, filling the hole created by Raffi Torres' injury.^[5] Hertl made his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on October 3,^[7] 2013 and tallied his first career point with an assist on a goal by Brent Burns. At age 19, Hertl became the first teenager to play in a season opener for the Sharks since Marc-Édouard Vlasic in 2006.^[8] Hertl scored his first two NHL goals in the next game on October 5, 2013, against Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes;^[9] Hertl became the youngest player to score 2 goals for the Sharks in one game since Patrick Marleau on March 17, 1999.^[10] On October 8, 2013, Hertl registered 4 goals against the New York Rangers in a 9–2 victory, making him the youngest player in the NHL to record a four-goal game (19 years, 330 days old) since Jimmy Carson did in the 1987–88 NHL season with the Los Angeles Kings (19 years, 254 days old).^[11] Hertl also became the first Shark to score four goals in one game since Owen Nolan in 1995.^[12] Hertl was eventually named the October Rookie of the Month, scoring eight goals, which led all rookies, and 11 points in 13 games.^[13] However, on December 19 against the Kings, Hertl injured his knee after a collision with Dustin Brown, and is reported to miss at least a month.^[14] Hertl had surgery on his MCL and PCL in his right knee on December 31. A former NHL trainer stated that the "best-case scenario" for Hertl's return was approximately twelve weeks, though Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area wrote that Hertl could be out for six to nine months.^[15] On April 11, 2014, Hertl was cleared to return to the Sharks against the Colorado Avalanche,^[16] ending a 45-game absence. On April 17, against the Kings, Hertl scored his first career playoff goal.^[17]

Due to requiring time to heal his injuries, Hertl was reassigned to the Worcester Sharks on January 22, 2015,^[18] and was recalled by San Jose five days later.^[19]

International play

Hertl joined the Czech Republic at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships, scoring 1 goal, as the team finished eighth. The next year, Hertl participated in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for the Czechs, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists, with the team finishing fifth.^[1] He eventually played in the 2013 edition, in which the Czech team finished fifth.^[20]

Hertl played with the Czech Republic at the 2013 IIHF World Championship, where he was the youngest player on the team.^[21] Due to the knee injury against the Kings in December 2013, Hertl was forced to have surgery and missed out on participating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.^[22] Hertl returned to the Czech team for the 2015 IIHF World Championship.^[23]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

• Tomáš Hertl's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Tomáš Hertl's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Tomas Hertl profile at Eurohockey.com