Tomas Hertl

Tomáš Hertl (born November 12, 1993) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hertl was selected 17th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Sharks.

Prior to being drafted, Tomas played for HC Slavia Praha of the Czech Extraliga.

Early career
Tomas started his playing career with HC Slavia Praha in the Czech Extraliga, playing on the U18 and U20 squads in 2009–10. He was the third-highest scorer on the U20 team, scoring 12 goals and 26 assists. On the U18 team, Tomas scored 13 goals and 10 assists.

The next season, Tomas was among four players on the U20 team with 40+ points; Hertl had 14 goals and 27 assists. In 2011–12, he was the fourth-leading scorer for Slavia, with 11 goals and 15 assists.

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Tomas fifth among European skaters before the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Tomas rejoined Slavia, scoring 30 points in 43 games.

San Jose Sharks
Tomas was drafted by the San Jose Sharks with 17th overall pick in the 2012 draft, and became the first European player drafted with the Sharks' top pick since Czech Lukas Kaspar was drafted in 2004. On June 3, 2013, the Sharks officially signed Tomas to a three-year entry-level contract.

In the preseason, Tomas scored 3 goals and 1 assist, and joined Joe Thornton and Brent Burns on a line, filling the hole created by Raffi Torres' injury. He made his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on October 3, 2013 and tallied his first career point with an assist on a goal by Brent Burns. At age 19, Hertl became the first teenager to play in a season opener for the Sharks since Marc-Édouard Vlasic in 2006.

Tomas scored his first two NHL goals in the next game on October 5, 2013, against Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes. He became the youngest player to score 2 goals for the Sharks in one game since Patrick Marleau on March 17, 1999.

On October 8, 2013, Tomas registered 4 goals against the New York Rangers in a 9-2 victory, making him the youngest player in the NHL to record a four-goal game (19 years, 330 days old) since Jimmy Carson did in the 1987–88 NHL season with the Los Angeles Kings (19 years, 254 days old). He also became the first Shark to score four goals in one game since Owen Nolan in 1995.

International play
Tomas joined the Czech Republic at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships, scoring 1 goal, as the team finished eighth. The next year, he participated in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for the Czechs, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists, with the team finishing fifth. Tomas eventually played in the 2013 edition, in which the Czech team finished fifth.