Hertl can relate to Matthews
Sharks forward also scored four goals in a game as a rookie
Four goals by a rookie sounds familiar to Sharks fans.
Auston Matthews, the 2016 No. 1 draft pick, found the net four times in his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, making league history and impressing many in the hockey world.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after the game.
“Incredible. I don’t know what the other words for it are,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Thursday. “I feel for him a little because I don’t know how you follow that up. But incredible. What a performance.”
Sharks forward Tomas Hertl accomplished that feat in his third NHL game, not his debut like Matthews. But Hertl’s hat-trick-plusone was just as impressive considering he was also 19 when he made his big splash on Oct. 8, 2013 at SAP Center.
“It was just my third game,” Hertl said Thursday. “I didn’t even expect to play in the NHL and now I score four goals.”
A replay of Wednesday’s Maple Leafs game against the Ottawa Senators was on the televisions inside the Sharks’ dressing room Thursday morning after practice. Hertl was one of a handful of players who kept glancing at the game.
While Matthews scored four times in the first two periods, Hertl scored twice in the second period and twice in the third in a 9-2 laugher over the New York Rangers.
“My emotions were crazy. (Matthews) was the No. 1 (draft choice) and everyone expects big things from him in Toronto,” Hertl said. “But for me, it was something big. … I’m excited any time I score. It’s hard to score two goals in an NHL game. It was a really big deal.”
Hertl finished his big night with a between-thelegs beauty.
Both youngsters’ breakout games induced incredible reactions from their mothers. Matthews’ mom was seen on the TV broadcast cheering exuberantly, similar to how Hertl’s mom cried for joy.
“For sure, it was really exciting,” Hertl said. “Some guys just texted me and said it was Oct. 8, three years ago that I scored the four goals. Everybody reminded me and it was for sure an exciting moment for all of my family. My mom and girlfriend were here and everybody back home was watching on TV, too. Maybe my best game ever.”