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.