Tomas Hertl Skates With Golden Knights For The First Time
Former San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl joined his new Vegas Golden Knights teammates for practice for the first time today.
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports - Tomas Hertl Skates With Golden Knights For The First TimeFormer San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl joined his new Vegas Golden Knights teammates for practice for the first time today.
Hertl was wearing a non-contact red jersey, so he is still working himself back from knee surgery and won't play in tomorrow's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Hertl had been skating alone for a while but hadn't joined the team until today.
"It's important for him to get around his teammates. I think it's great for him to start interacting and see how we practice," Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told Vegas media today. "Just being in the room at the same time, usually when you're skating by yourself, you're dressing early, and it's a bit of a lonely life sometimes."
The Knights are expecting rust from Hertl. He hasn't played since January 24th against the Buffalo Sabres. The longtime fan favorite underwent knee surgery to correct an issue that had plagued him throughout the season.
Cassidy thinks that starting Hertl on the wing will help him transition to the Golden Knights style of play.
"I think it would be easier to come in and play the wing than the center in our system. That's probably where he'd start, doesn't mean he will finish there. He may not even finish a game there," Cassidy said. "Then it will depend on health. We have four centermen who we typically play. That would probably be the way we'd start. I'll have a discussion with [Hertl] about that and see how he feels about that."
Hertl is a very smart hockey player who started his career with the San Jose Sharks on the wing.
Knights fans have taken a keen to Hertl quickly as the team has released t-shirts with Hertl's iconic phrase, "fun must be always" on it.
The Golden Knights have gotten back on track and moved back into third place in the Pacific Division, giving Hertl his wish at playoff hockey.
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