When Tomas Hertl broke into the NHL with the Sharks back in 2013, he was 19 years old and over 5,800 miles away from his home of Prague, Czech Republic. Just 15 months after San Jose selected him as the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Hertl scored his first two NHL goals in his second career game against the Phoenix Coyotes. It was Hertl’s third game that won us over; four goals scored against the New York Rangers in a 9-2 dismantling of King Henrik and the Blueshirts.
It became evident in his post-game interview with Brodie Brazil that Hertl’s English wasn’t well developed.