Shane Gersich

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| name = Shane Gersich

| image = 2024-11-24 Eisbären Berlin gegen Iserlohn Roosters (Deutsche Eishockey-Liga 2024-25) by Sandro Halank–026.jpg

| caption = Gersich with the Iserlohn Roosters in 2024

| league =

| team = Free agent

| prospect_team =

| prospect_league =

| former_teams = Washington Capitals
Västerås IK
Iserlohn Roosters

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1996|7|10}}

| birth_place = Chaska, Minnesota, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 175

| position = Left wing

| shoots = Left

| draft = 134th overall

| draft_year = 2014

| draft_team = Washington Capitals

| career_start = 2018

}}

Shane Gersich (born July 10, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Iserlohn Roosters in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Gersich was selected 134th overall by the Washington Capitals at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life

Gersich was born on July 10, 1996, in Chaska, Minnesota,{{cite web |title=Shane Gersich |url=https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/168706/shane-gersich |publisher=Elite Prospects |access-date=September 14, 2022}} to parents Frank and Sharlene.{{cite web |title=Shane Gersich |url=https://fightinghawks.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster/shane-gersich/5839 |publisher=University of North Dakota |access-date=September 14, 2022}} He was born into a hockey playing family as his uncles Neal, Aaron, and Paul Broten all played in the National Hockey League (NHL).{{cite web |last1=Olsen |first1=Becky |title=Player Feature - Gersich Bucks the Family Trend |url=https://www.usahockeyntdp.com/news_article/show/358569 |publisher=USA Hockey National Team Development Program |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=March 11, 2014}}

Playing career

= Amateur =

Gersich attended Holy Family Catholic High in Minnesota before moving to the United States Hockey League with the Omaha Lancers and the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP). He was recruited to enrol at Holy Family Catholic in the eighth grade by coach Noel Rahn with the aim of leading the fledgeling program rather than joining an established one.{{cite web |last1=Orenstein |first1=Walker |title=A man on fire |publisher=MN Boy' Hockey Hub|url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/173473-a-man-on-fire |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=August 31, 2012}} As an eighth grader, Gersich tallied 16 goals and 23 assists through the 2010–11 Minnesota State High School League regular season. Due to the hockey teams' success, Holy Family Catholic opted to move from Class 1A to 2A for the 2011–12 season.{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Loren |title=High-class decision|publisher=MN Boy' Hockey Hub|url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/83254-high-class-decision- |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=March 24, 2011}} He was also selected to represent Team USA at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games.{{cite web |title=Three Minnesota players on U.S. under-16 team|publisher=MN Boy' Hockey Hub|url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/112427 |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=November 4, 2011}} As a freshman at Holy Family Catholic, Gersich accumulated 30 goals and 30 assists and was subsequently offered an opportunity to play with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for the 2012–13 season. However, he turned down the offer and was drafted first overall by the Omaha Lancers in the 2012 United States Hockey League Futures Draft.{{cite web |title=Gersich chosen No. 1 in USHL Draft |url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/sports/gersich-chosen-no-1-in-ushl-draft/article_9a844b13-c844-500b-b786-54d6b25fbe4d.html |website=swnewsmedia.com |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=May 2, 2012}} During the summer following the draft, Gersich again represented Team USA at the international level to help them win gold at the U-17 Five Nations tournament.{{cite web |title=Gersich helps USA to gold medal |url=https://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/sports/briefs/gersich-helps-usa-to-gold-medal/article_6f836ac4-24aa-5eed-9830-4b2e0ed3ee4a.html |website=swnewsmedia.com |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=August 13, 2012}} Although he injured his shoulder during the tournament, Gersich skated with Team Southwest in the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League but sat out the final several weeks of the season.{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Loren |title=Scout's paradise |url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/192254-scout-s-paradise|publisher=MN Boy' Hockey Hub|access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=November 15, 2012}}

Gersich returned to Holy Family Catholic for his sophomore year in the 2012–13 season. By December 2012, he shared the scoring lead with six goals and nine assists for 15 points through seven games. As such, he was recruited by numerous Division 1 programs before committing to a collegiate career with the University of North Dakota of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Loren |title=Gersich picks North Dakota|publisher=MN Boy' Hockey Hub|url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/205023-gersich-picks-north-dakota |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=December 20, 2012}} He finished the season with 28 assists and 34 assists for 62 points through 24 games. During the season, Gersich also played six games with the Omaha Lancers where he recorded one goal before choosing to join the NTDP for the 2013–14 season.{{cite web |title=Gersich Added to U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team Roster |url=https://www.usahockeyntdp.com/news_article/show/266793 |publisher=USA Hockey National Team Development Program |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=June 25, 2013}} Following this, he was also invited to participate in the second annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.{{cite web |title=USA Hockey announces prospect game rosters |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/usa-hockey-announces-prospect-game-rosters/c-682894 |publisher=National Hockey League |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=September 17, 2013}}

Upon joining the NTDP, Gersich continued to flourish and quickly accumulated 14 goals and 27 points by March 2014. He credited his easy transition to the coaching of Danton Cole and John Gruden. Upon graduating from the University of Nebraska High School, Gersich was drafted in the fifth round, 134th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Following the draft, he spent the entirety of the 2014–15 season with the Omaha Lancers, where he quickly flourished. By February 2015, Gersich led the team with 24 goals in 39 games, to rank sixth in the USHL.{{cite news |last1=Beideck |first1=Steve |title=Gersich in the groove for Lancers |url=https://omaha.com/sports/local-sports/gersich-in-the-groove-for-lancers/article_d8e95518-528b-5512-8f65-5686a769d0cb.html |access-date=September 14, 2022 |publisher=Omaha World Herald |date=February 22, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220914161029/https://omaha.com/sports/local-sports/gersich-in-the-groove-for-lancers/article_d8e95518-528b-5512-8f65-5686a769d0cb.html|archive-date=September 14, 2022}}

=Collegiate=

Following his first full season with the Lancers, Gersich began his collegiate career with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team while majoring in communication. Upon joining the team, Gersich made an immediate impact during their exhibition games as he scored twice in 12 seconds to earn the Fighting Hawks a win over Manitoba. He then scored his first collegiate goal in the team's home opener against Lake Superior State.{{cite web |title=Prospect Report: Off to a strong start |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/washington-capitals/prospect-report-strong-start |publisher=NBC Sports |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=October 15, 2015}} As his freshman season continued, Gersich ranked third among UND freshmen with nine goals through 37 games as he helped lead the team the national championship.

=Professional=

Following his junior season with the Fighting Hawks in 2017–18, Gersich signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals on March 23, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/capitals-sign-shane-gersich/c-297238774|title=Capitals sign Shane Gersich|website= Washington Capitals | date = 2018-03-23 | accessdate = 2018-03-23}} He immediately joined the Capitals roster for the remainder of the season and made his professional debut, going scoreless, in a 3–2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers on March 28, 2018.{{cite web| url = https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-wsh/2018/03/28/2017021187/recap | title = Capitals top Rangers in OT | publisher = National Hockey League | date = 2018-03-28 | access-date = 2018-03-28}} Despite going scoreless in his debut, Gersich earned his first NHL point in his third NHL game on April 7, in a 5–3 win over the New Jersey Devils.{{cite web |title=Ovechkin locks up scoring title, Capitals beat Devils 5-3 |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/gametracker/recap/NHL_20180407_NJ@WAS |website=cbssports.com |accessdate=August 27, 2018 |date=April 15, 2018}} After Tom Wilson was suspended in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs Gersich played in Games 4 and 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins en route to the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup.

Following their Stanley Cup run, the Capitals re-signed Gersich to a one-year, two-way contract with a cap hit of $700,000.{{cite web |title=Capitals Re-sign Shane Gersich |url=https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/capitals-re-sign-shane-gersich/c-325396628 |publisher=National Hockey League |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=June 19, 2021}}

Out of contract with the Capitals following the {{NHL Year|2021}} season, Gersich opted to remain within the organization in signing a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears on August 25, 2022.{{cite web| url = https://www.hersheybears.com/news/detail.php?id=6682 | title = Gersich returns to Hershey on a AHL deal | publisher = Hershey Bears | date = August 25, 2022 | accessdate = August 25, 2022}} In the 2022–23 season, Gersich added 9 goals and 23 points through 53 regular season games. He featured in 6 post-season games with the Bears to help the club claim their 12th Calder Cup Championship.

Following five seasons with the Bears, Gersich as a free agent signed his first contract abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with Swedish second tier club, Västerås IK of the Allsvenskan, on June 23, 2023.{{cite web | publisher = Västerås IK | title = Newly crowned AHL champion signs with VIK | date = June 23, 2023| accessdate = June 23, 2023 | url = https://www.vik.se/article/8zwarwo-4a8i1/view | language = Swedish}}

Career statistics

=Regular season and playoffs=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="5" | Playoffs

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Season

! Team

! League

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

2010–11

| Holy Family Catholic

| USHS

| 23

| 16

| 23

| 39

| 20

| 2

| 0

| 2

| 0

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2011–12

| Holy Family Catholic

| USHS

| 20

| 30

| 60

| 21

| 1

| 0

2012–13

| Holy Family Catholic

| USHS

| 24

| 28

| 34

| 62

| 35

| 1

| 0

| 2

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2012–13

| Omaha Lancers

| USHL

| 6

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 19

| —

2013–14

| U.S. National Development Team

| USHL

| 26

| 8

| 16

| 4

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2014–15

| Omaha Lancers

| USHL

| 52

| 27

| 23

| 50

| 32

| 3

| 1

| 2

| 0

2015–16

| U. of North Dakota

| NCHC

| 37

| 9

| 2

| 11

| 16

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2016–17

| U. of North Dakota

| NCHC

| 40

| 21

| 16

| 37

| 20

| —

2017–18

| U. of North Dakota

| NCHC

| 40

| 13

| 16

| 29

| 18

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2017–18

| Washington Capitals

| NHL

| 3

| 0

| 1

| 0

| 2

| 0

2018–19

| Hershey Bears

| AHL

| 66

| 8

| 16

| 24

| 57

| 9

| 1

| 2

| 3

| 6

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2019–20

| Hershey Bears

| AHL

| 54

| 10

| 8

| 18

| 24

| —

2020–21

| Hershey Bears

| AHL

| 33

| 6

| 8

| 14

| 39

| —

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2021–22

| Hershey Bears

| AHL

| 71

| 14

| 20

| 34

| 60

| —

2022–23

| Hershey Bears

| AHL

| 53

| 9

| 14

| 23

| 16

| 6

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 0

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2023–24

| Västerås IK

| Allsv

| 48

| 19

| 13

| 32

| 10

| —

2024–25

| Iserlohn Roosters

| DEL

| 51

| 16

| 21

| 37

| 38

| —

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | NHL totals

! 3

! 0

! 1

! 0

! 2

! 0

=International=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Year

! Team

! Event

! Result

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

2012

| United States

| U16

| 6

| 3

| 1

| 4

| 6

bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2014

| United States

| U18

| {{gold1}}

| 7

| 0

| 2

bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="4" | Junior totals

! 13

! 3

! 1

! 4

! 8

Awards and honors

class="wikitable"

! Award

! Year

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

| colspan="3" | College

NCHC Honorable Mention All-Star Team

| 2017

ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

| colspan="4" | AHL

Calder Cup

| 2023

| {{cite web | url = https://theahl.com/sweeter-by-the-dozen-hershey-wins-12th-cup | title = Sweeter by the dozen: Hershey wins 12th Calder Cup | publisher = American Hockey League | date = June 21, 2023 | accessdate = June 21, 2023}}