San Jose Sharks hunt for a Hertl

SAN JOSE, Ca. – The San Jose Sharks head into the 2012 NHL Entry Draft looking to shore up their farm system with a new core group of players that will hopefully be a part of the organization for a long, long time. The Sharks are getting long in the tooth (no pun intended) and must begin to look towards the future.
 
The Sharks had a solid year with 96 points but fell short to the St. Louis Blues in the playoffs. During the season they were 13^th in offense, 8^th in defense, 2^nd on the power play, but were 29^th on the penalty kill. The good news is they were second overall in face-offs, which is a bit surprising that the PK would be as bad as it was. Still, the core pieces are still in place but more scoring past the first line is a must of the Sharks are going to return to prominence.
 
The offense was led by Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski. Couture, Pavelski, and Marleau led the team in goals, all with 30+ goals while Thornton led the team in assists with 59. Only two other players besides the big four had over 10 goals. If the Sharks are going to have a future, adding more scorers to the lineup is a must. They have center Tommy Wingels in the pipeline but other than that the Sharks don’t have any other blue chip prospects up front.
 
On the blueline Dan Boyle and Brent Burns had solid years. Five of the Sharks eight defensemen were a positive in the plus/minus category. Taylor Doherty is the Sharks top prospect along with Nick Petrecki. Adding another blueline wouldn’t hurt considering four of the Sharks defenseman currently on the roster is age 32 and over.
 
In PHN’s mock draft most of the top offensive prospects are gone…or are they? Center Tomas Hertl is a solid 6’ 2” horse is considered a playmaking forward from the Czech Republic. Prince Albert’s Mike Winther is a gifted goal scorer who is a bit smallish but might be worth the risk as #17. That said; look for the Sharks to make the following announcement.
 
“With the 17^th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the San Jose Sharks select, from the Slavia of the Czech Republic, Tomas Hertl.”
 
To learn more about Tomas Hertl click here .
 
Contact the writer at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com Follow us on twitter @prohockeynews