https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/hockey/4423940-shane-gersich-make-nhl-debut-capitals-experiment-bottom-lines

Fantasy Summary

Drafted late he is currently a boom or bust type of player. As of now he appears to be on track to become a fast skating bottom six forward


Observations

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July 2023 – Gersich signed in the HockeyAllsvenskan league for 2023-24 after winning the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears. Pat Quinn

 

February 2023 – Gersich has seemingly solidified himself as a middle/bottom six AHL player. The speed is there but unfortunately he has not been given an NHL chance and likely will not get one in the future, except for the possible “good organization player” call-up. Currently, he has 11 points in 33 games as he has a couple minor injuries. I had high hopes initially but it is too bad he could not contribute at an NHL level. Pat Quinn

 

September 2022 – Gersich signed an AHL contract with Hershey for 2022-23. He was an important player for the 2021-22 squad, finishing tied for fifth in points but his 34 points came in just 71 games. Hershey was a low scoring team but Gersich seems to finally be figuring the AHL out, however that may just keep him as a middle six AHL winger. At 26 his NHL time is likely up, he could still have some depth call up opportunities, but in all likelihood he will be in the AHL or overseas. Pat Quinn

 

September 2021 – Gersich will look to finally start producing better in the AHL in hopes to get to the NHL. He has NHL speed and skating but the rest has not shown up enough for him to be called up, or given a top line role. His 0.59 point per game is the best of his AHL career, and he is top five in scoring on Hershey, but he is not taking the AHL by storm. There may be a team out there that could give him a bottom six shot but it seems more likely that he will play overseas of the AHL for a long time. Pat Quinn

 

March 2021 – Gersich has played fine to start this AHL season. He has three points in 12 games but is only playing in the bottom six. He is shooting even less than last season (1.41 last year to 1.17 this season) and is really only using his speed to forecheck and try to set up plays. If he is not going to shoot then defenders know his game, especially if he ever gets an NHL chance. Right now he does not look like he will have an impactful NHL career, but he may still have hope for a bottom six forechecking role. Pat Quinn

 

August 2020 – Gersich was invited to Capitals training camp for the restart of the season but was ultimately not invited to Toronto. Gersich will likely wait until the NHL/AHL training camp starts to hopefully make the Capitals full-time, but it is much more likely he stays in the AHL. Pat Quinn

 

March 2020 – With the AHL paused, Gersich is sitting with 18 points in 54 games which is a total regression from his first season where he had 24 points in 66 games. He was stuck in the bottom six for most of the season as the coaching staff appears to not want him to develop scoring in his game. A lot is also on Gersich as he seems to have regressed in a lot of play, his shots per game were even down from 1.89 to 1.41. The Capitals need to get Hershey to put Gersich in a top six spot to see if there is any offense there that can translate to the higher ranks, as a player with his speed (and if there is still his skill from college there) could play in today’s NHL.  Pat Quinn

 

December 2019 – Gersich has seven points through his first 23 games. He really has not looked impressive in his second AHL season. Fantasy owners are rightfully getting worried. Pat Quinn

 

September 2019 – Gersich was sent down to Hershey at the tail end of training camp as there really is no room on the Capitals up front. This is a good development for Gersich as he really needs to stand out in a veteran heavy Hershey squad up front for the 2019-2020 season. Hopefully he can break out in the AHL as he really needs his skills to come through to become an NHLer. His speed would carve him out an NHL career but if his hands can catch up it will extend his career for sure. Pat Quinn

 

June 2019 – In his first AHL season, Gersich played fine in a bottom six role scoring 24 points in 66 games. His speed was routinely evident but his hands, and linemates, had a hard time keeping up. Surprisingly, Gersich posted 57 penalty minutes as that was out of the ordinary for his career. Going forward Gersich needs more AHL time, and to post better scoring numbers, before it can be seen if he can produce in the NHL. Pat Quinn

 

March 2019 – Gersich has taken his usual progression when moving up to a higher league, and that is to slowly  come along. So far he has 19 points in 51 games a respectable rookie amount, as he also missed a chunk of December with an injury. His speed is apparent every night but his hands have yet to catch up as they eventually do. Gersich is shooting two shots per game on average as he tries to stay quite involved. Pat Quinn

 

September 2018 – Gersich has been sent down to the Hershey Bears as he can clear waivers and the Capitals have too many forwards. Gersich brought speed and skill to the bottom six during his preseason games, and looked good playing NHL players. Top line time in the AHL should help Gersich develop and his demotion was not performance related. Pat Quinn

 

March 2018 – Gersich has forgone his final year of University to sign a two-year entry-level deal with the Capitals. The Capitals plan is to have Gersich go through NHL practices and may even start him in a game or two, but with Trotz’s relectance to play rookies do not expect him to get much NHL time when he does play. His speed will be a major asset going forward for the Capitals, but it is a little unknown as to what his scoring will turn out to be. As of this current season do not expect much. Pat Quinn

 

March 2018 – Gersich is playing on a mediocre North Dakota team this season but even with middling numbers his play has been great most nights. He has 27 points in 36 games which is 10 points away from last seasons total with four games remaining, he likely will not hit that total. Gersich is tied for the team lead in goals with 11, and is again leading his team in shots. He is still unsigned by the Capitals but they will look to sign him as the teams prospect pool is getting thinner and thinner. Pat Quinn

 

April 2017 – Gersich ramped up his play this season for the University of North Dakota and put his previous season in the dust. He finished the year with 37 points in 40 games, with 21 of those being goals. The kid is fast and has great hands and if he can keep this high level of play up the Capitals may have gotten a great pick in the fifth round. From what I have heard he will be playing one more year in the NCAA but I could be wrong. He could play a role in the ECHL/AHL for the 2017-2018 season if he makes a big impression during training camp… and signs an ELC. Pat Quinn

 

Sept 2016 – Last season was a trying season for Gersich as he played in only 37 games due to injuries. He managed to post 11 points in those games as he could never get back into rhythm playing in a tighter, faster, and stronger league. Hopefully he can adjust to the league and be better prepared for this upcoming season. He will be back at the University of North Dakota in a top six role. Pat Quinn

 

Nov 2015 – Gersich has played six of the University of North Dakota’s past 10 games as he started out the season injured. In those six games he has registered four goals and has 18 shots, making him second on the team in goals scored as two players are tied for first with five. Pat Quinn

 

July 2015 – Gersich finished his last season in the USHL and looks to play up to three years for the University of North Dakota in the NCAA. He will look to build on his size, playmaking, and shooting to transition to playing in the AHL/NHL. Pat Quinn

 

March 2015 – At the completion of his last USHL season for the Omaha Lancers Gersich ended the season with 46 points, 26 of them goals, in 47 games. Gersich ended up leasing his team in goals and had 48 more shots than his next closest teammate, all while playing the least amount of games in the team’s top 10 scorers. He will look to continue to develop his game by playing for the University of North Dakota in the NCAA next season. Pat Quinn

 

January 2015 – Gersich is currently sitting in second on his team in points with 33 in 28 games. Gersich is leading his team in goals with 18, eight more than the next closest teammate. A very promising statistic is Gersich’s willingness to shoot the puck as he has registered 116 shots on net (4.14 shots-per-game). He has 40 more shots than his next closest teammate, and he sits seventh in the league overall. He is looking to be a great fifth round pick by the Capitals. Pat Quinn

 

October 2014 – Drafted in the 5th round out of the USNTDP Juniors and US National U18 Team, Gersich is a speedy agile winger with a strong shot. He is currently playing in the USHL where he has nine points in eight games and more importantly is tied for second in goals and shots. He is a young prospect with a lot of potential but it is unknown right now if he can develop that potential into a future. He is one to monitor in very deep leagues. Pat Quinn

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 2.5
NHL Certainty 1.5
Country USA
Position LW
Roster Type Europe
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth July 10, 1996
Height 5‘11”
Weight 174 lbs
Drafted 2014 Round 5; Overall: 134

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2010-2011 Holy Family CatholicUSHS-MN23 16 2339 20|Playoffs2 0 22
 2011-2012 Holy Family CatholicUSHS-MN20 30 3060 21|Playoffs1 0 00
  USA U16 YOG6 3 14 6|        
 2012-2013 Holy Family CatholicUSHS-MN24 28 3462 35|Playoffs1 0 00
  Team TDS TransportationUMHSEHL7 5 38 0|        
  Omaha LancersUSHL6 1 01 19|        
 2013-2014 USNTDP JuniorsUSHL26 8 816 4|        
  U.S. National U18 TeamNTDP61 16 1632 18|        
  USA U18WJC-187 0 00 2|        
 2014-2015 Omaha LancersUSHL52 27 2350 32|Playoffs3 1 12
  U.S. National U18 TeamNTDP1 0 00 0|        
  USA U19WJAC-194 2 13 0|        
 2015-2016 Univ. of North DakotaNCAA37 9 211 16|        
 2016-2017 Univ. of North DakotaNCAA40 21 1637 20|        
 2017-2018 Univ. of North DakotaNCAA40 13 1629 18|        
  Washington CapitalsNHL3 0 11 0|Playoffs2 0 00
 2018-2019 Hershey BearsAHL66 8 1624 57|Playoffs9 1 23
 2019-2020 Hershey BearsAHL54 10 818 24|        
 2020-2021 Hershey BearsAHL33 6 814 39|        
 2021-2022 Hershey BearsAHL71 14 2034 60|        
 2022-2023 Hershey BearsAHL53 9 1423 16|Playoffs6 1 01
 2023-2024 Västerås IKHockeyAllsvenskan48 19 1332 10|        

Highlights