In Tough Season, Hertl Making Teammates Better On & Off the Ice

In the golden age of San Jose Sharks hockey, it might have been Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, or Brent Burns’s voices booming, trying to get the players together after practice to take a picture with a special guest.

Two weeks ago at Sharks Ice, it was Tomas Hertl’s voice that blasted like a bullhorn to gather his teammates around eight-year-old leukemia survivor Quinn.

Everyone meet Quinn 👋💜

She is an 8 year old Sharks fan and leukemia survivor who joined us for a special day at practice ahead of our Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by @kpthrive on November 16! pic.twitter.com/QcPqYjz4Nz

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 7, 2023

It was a symbolic moment, an example of how Hertl has gone from the “Fun Must Be Always” teenager who took San Jose by storm a decade ago to the 30-year-old alternate captain who’s currently trying to lead the 3-14-1 San Jose Sharks out from one of the worst starts in franchise history.

It doesn’t mean that the smile is gone, but it’s tempered with something else.

“At end of the day, you’re going to be positive, but you also need to be a little bit hard sometimes,” fellow alternate captain Mario Ferraro said. “He’s had a good balance.”

It’s been especially hard for Hertl and Ferraro without captain Logan Couture, out since the beginning of training camp with a lower-body injury.

But Hertl, who signed an eight-year, $65.1 million extension with the San Jose Sharks in Mar. 2022, has stepped up after a challenging first year of his contract last season.

Read the Full Story at NBC Sports Bay Area