PRAGUE — The elation was immediate. The happiness. The pride. The relief, perhaps.
Thomas Hertl skated behind the goal, his right arm pumping and his face ablaze. He welcomed his teammates in for hugs, his face nakedly joyful. It was the purity of realizing his greatest childhood ambitions — ones, in fact, he might not even have been bold enough to dream.
“It was a little crazy, but it was just a special moment, to score in front of my whole family and a lot of friends that probably used to see me when I was playing in Prague,” said Hertl, who grew up in the city and played for Slavia Praha in O2 Arena from 2011-13. “It was a special moment. It would be a little better if we got the win, but I was really happy for that game.”
[RELATED: 2022 NHL Global Series coverage]
The Sharks forward punctuated his return to Prague by scoring the only goal for the San Jose Sharks in a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at the O2 Arena on Friday in the 2022 NHL Global Series, the kickoff to the 2022-23 season.
At 8:36 of the first period, Hertl knocked the puck to the middle of the ice, where it got caught bouncing between Luke Kunin, Timo Meier and a passel of Predators. But the puck squibbed out to Hertl on the right side of the net where, with one stroke, he buried it just under the crossbar. The score was tied, with the Predators having taken the lead on a Kiefer Sherwood goal 1:01 into the first period.
“It was a pretty special moment, obviously,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “I’m sure he’s been thinking about that for a long time.”
Video: SJS@NSH: Hertl locates the loose puck and scores
This was his rink, a place where, in his words, a “baby-faced” Hertl once dreamed big. He sat in these locker rooms, walked down these streets, skated on this ice, scored in these goals. This was his home, a place to introduce to the teammates who weren’t at his wedding a few years ago, the teammates he sees so frequently playing near their own hometowns.
The stands were full of his people, 35 of them getting a chance to watch him, to watch him all together. His brother was there and his parents, his wife and almost-2-year-old Tobias, his nephew and his grandmother. They have seen him play for the Sharks before, in ones and twos, dribs and drabs, but not this full-throated section of love and support, not in person, not like this.
And when the goal by Hertl was announced, the name of their own echoing, they screamed. They serenaded him with a “Hertl” chant, a hug from the nosebleeds to the glass.
“It was a great moment,” he said. “I remember because it’s kind of how it works in Europe. So I remember the time when I was playing for Slavia Praha when you score, they would all yell your name. It was really special, and I really enjoyed it. I was so pumped.”
He nearly got another one, a puck right on the tape that hit the crossbar with 2:27 remaining in the first period.
That would have sent him to the stratosphere, a remake of earlier in the week when Nashville captain Roman Jose scored twice in his own homecoming against SC Bern in a preseason game on Monday.
“I know this game meant a lot,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “I think he was pretty excited for this one. Would have loved to win that game for him, but happy he was able to put it in the back of the net.”
Video: Predators top Sharks in 2022 NHL Global Series, 4-1
There had been a few moments, a few hints that Hertl had dropped to Couture to let him know the emotions churning inside him. But there was also a dead giveaway, the surest possible sign that Hertl is happy about something.
“When Tommy Hertl gets excited, he talks really fast,” Sharks forward Nick Bonino said. “He was talking extra fast this week.”
That excitement had been evident from the first moments Friday, when his name was announced to cheers, when his face appeared on the JumboTron, mouthing along to the words of the Czech national anthem. It was the first time he had done so in seven years, since the World Championships had been played in Prague in 2015.
He was just 21 then. He is 28 now, and a full-fledged star in the NHL.
“I’m proud to be Czech,” Hertl said. “I saw all my family because they were under the flag, and it was just a special moment. They could be here, all with me, my parents and son and wife. It was just incredible.”
.