Tomas Hertl Gaining Confidence On Top Line For Sharks

After starting his NHL career off with a bang, Tomas Hertl has struggled to live up to the raised expectations he helped create. After all, he burst on to the scene with 15 goals and 10 assists in just 37 games two years ago before a knee injury wiped out the rest of his rookie campaign.

This season, it appeared Hertl’s confidence was waning after a slow first half of the year. However, that’s all changed in recent weeks as Peter DeBoer moved Hertl to the top line alongside Joe Thornton. It was with Thornton where the 22-year-old forward really made a name for himself.

Since that point, the San Jose Sharks have seen a different Hertl on the ice, one who is starting to show flashes of the offensive capabilities he possesses. Hertl was moved to the wing before San Jose’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs two weeks ago, and he rewarded his coach’s decision as he’s collected four goals, three assists and a plus-eight rating over the last six games. It should come as no surprise that the Sharks are 5-0-1 over that span.

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It hasn’t always been that great for Hertl this year as he was thrust into a new role with the injury to Logan Couture early on. Hertl was bumped up to the second-line center role and did a decent job for a period of time. He was then back centering the third line, but his production was way down from what the Sharks needed.

Consider this, over the first three months of the season, Hertl had just four goals, 11 assists and was a minus-four. So in the last six games he’s doubled his goal output and has turned from a minus player into a positive one.

He’s scored some big goals of late for the Sharks including the game-winner in overtime against former teammate Antti Niemi and the Dallas Stars, and he helped San Jose get back in the game against the Ottawa Senators when he scored eight seconds after the Senators had established a 2-0 lead.

Hertl’s resurgence has come at a time when the San Jose offense has really started to roll as they’ve scored 24 goals over their last six games and now rank fifth in goals per game across the league.

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It’s clear to anyone watching the Sharks that Hertl has been a different player. He’s more confident and allowing his offensive skills to take center stage, the same skills that made Hertl a first-round selection by San Jose. He’s more willing to attack the net and he’s been around the puck on a more frequent basis.

Hertl’s play of late has been a welcome sight for the Sharks as he’s providing a scoring balance this team has longed for. If he can avoid the valleys that tend to pop up for him, San Jose should be in good shape for a playoff run over the second half.