San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl withdrew from the World Cup of Hockey this week because he is still recovering from an injury that knocked him out of the Stanley Cup Final in June.
Even though he will not be playing for the Czech Republic in a couple of weeks, the Sharks still expect him to be ready for the start of the season according to general manager Doug Wilson on Sunday.
“After speaking with Tomas, we’re pleased that he has chosen to put his commitment to the Sharks and his teammates first,” Wilson said in a statement, via Comcast Sportsnet’s Kevin Kurz.
“I know he’s disappointed to not be able to represent his country but Tomas is on track to be ready for the start of the NHL season and he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”
Hertl is coming off of a strong season for the Sharks that saw him score a career-high 21 goals to go with 25 assists.
He was also having a great postseason with six goals and five assists in the Sharks’ first 20 games on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. He was perhaps their best skater in the first two games of that series against the Pittsburgh Penguins until a lower body injury, which was the result of a hard hit in Game 2 from Patric Hornqvist, knocked him out of the series.
The Sharks ended up losing the series in six games.
Hertl was replaced on the Czech Republic World Cup roster by KHL forward Michal Birner.