Injury Report: 12/19 Hertl
- Thread starter LadyStanley
- Start date
He was average at best. He didn't really have many defensive responsibilities since he was on a juggernaut possession line that generally didn't match up against other team's top lines. He hasn't really been tested defensively.
TomasHertlsRooster
Don’t say eye test when you mean points
I don't know what games you were watching. Granted he was not generally facing top competition, but he was very good defensively.
He was flying the zone an awful lot to be called defensively responsible. I almost wish Marleau flew the zone as much. He is not fast and that would hurt against guys like P. Kane. He was getting his breakaways by flying the zone and getting a jump on the opposition, not by raw speed from a standing start. And TM has his vote. The top defensive guys do PK. Nieto, also a rookie, was chosen over Hertl to learn the PK system. As we know, TM doesn't care if his PK guys are first line forwards.
I am not saying that he is awful defensively, but he is certainly not a wunderkind.
Squeeven
Registered User
I can't believe some of you are actually arguing about how well Hertl played last night. The kid was out for almost 4 months with his first major injury, a knee injury which could have ended his season and it was first game back so clearly he wasn't going all out and you could see that so take it easy on the kid, like I can't even believe this is an argument. Not only that but he's never really played much with Sheppar and Wingels and even then I think he played alright.
Gene Parmesan
Dedicated to babies who came feet first
Hertl is decent positional defender and uses his stick but I wouldn't call him good. He doesn't pressure or go at his man hard enough yet. Not a big deal since most young players are better offensively than defensively..especially forwards.
Exactly. I'm not expecting much from him in that regard. As long as he doesn't lose coverage on people, he's fine. He doesn't have to be good defensively on a heavy possession line at his age. I think he's smart enough that he'll get there in time but there are other things he has to work on that will probably take precedence over his defensive ability. That will come naturally or be focused on later in his career.
Kitten Mittons
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- Nov 18, 2007
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I don't think they should play Hertl at all and have him continue recovering over the summer. I'm sure he is playing through it and sure, he's young but knees are not something to **** with.
Kitten Mittons
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- Nov 18, 2007
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There's not much that they can do other than test him with it at this point. They just have to see how the knee reacts and go from there.
Kitten Mittons
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- Nov 18, 2007
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Yeah the problem is since it's playoff time, he is a lot more likely to tell them it's fine when it isn't.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
My question is this: Is this not our last best chance at winning the Stanley Cup? If you think so, as I do, there's no good reason not to play Hertl.
hockeyball
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- Nov 10, 2007
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At the same time if Hertl is cleared to play by doctors and wants to play the Sharks don't have a ton of choice. The NHLPA can get involved at that point if they keep him on LTIR. If they just healthy scratch him it could really piss him off. I know it would piss me off. Athletes want to play, especially in a year with serious cup contention. It's part of their competitive spirit, you have to take the good with the bad.
It's not as if they don't have their trainers do a little more than take the kid at his word.
Kitten Mittons
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- Nov 18, 2007
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Yeah but then how many players have been playing with concussions?
Maybe it's because I am not an optimist and don't expect us to win the Cup, so I'm looking into the future, making sure it's bright and not limping.
But a concussion is a lot more difficult to deal with at that level than a knee. You know when a knee is swelling and you know when there is difficulty with motion and you know when there is pain issues with it. Concussions can be concealed a lot better than a knee injury to a training staff.
