SJHN Daily: Origin of Sharks Escape Room Squad Revealed

The San Jose Sharks managed to keep a secret from the media and fans for almost five months.

But then, during Tomáš Hertl’s re-signing press conference on Mar. 16, he let it slip when asked how he celebrated his new contract: “With a couple of guys, we just did an escape room at one of LA’s rooms so that was for sure fun.”

That one statement sparked the interest of Sharks nation.

Since then, we have all been made aware of an estimated 14 rooms that the Sharks escape room squad has attempted this season. The group has a supposed 12-2 record, according to Hertl.

Just a couple of days after Hertl’s press conference, the now-traded Jake Middleton mentioned the squad’s success in the celebratory escape room: “The guy we had last time in LA, he was very impressed. He said we were the best group he’s had in six months. That was a nice pat on the back.”

Hertl, Rūdolfs Balcers, Logan Couture, Nick Bonino, and Jaycob Megna, who replaced Middleton, make the squad complete…for now.

According to Corey Masisak of The Athletic, you can credit escape room aficionado Rudolfs Balcers for the San Jose Sharks escape room squad. Balcers asked Couture if he had ever done one, they asked Hertl, and a legend was born. Brent Burns was actually part of the original squad.

“[Burns] was actually really good at it,” Couture told The Athletic. “He helped a lot, but he also lost interest pretty quickly. The rest of us continued to go.”

Couture also shared that while he may be the captain on the ice, it’s Bonino who has emerged as the leader in the room. Well, the escape room. Couture reads the story and the clues and Balcers searches for what they need. While Hertl and Megna’s roles haven’t yet been revealed, we’ll surely find out by the end of the season.

That might explain a rare escape room loss recently in Edmonton.

“Bonino didn’t show up,” Balcers said, “he ditched on the squad, and that’s a big mistake there.”

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AROUND THE NHL…

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