Washington Capitals Top Ten Prospects: Winter 2015
Washington Capitals Prospects Rankings #10: Shane Gersich
Shane Gersich was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL draft by the Washington Capitals. He’s 18 years old. He’s a forward who can play center or wing, though I like him more as a wing. He shoots left-handed. He stood out to me during Washington Capitals development camp due to his exceptional skating and high hockey IQ. His shot was one of the best in training camp due to his quick release. Here’s what Future Considerations had to say about him:
"Gersich is a game breaking talent with incredible speed, agility and first step quickness. He needs just three steps and he is gone and uses his speed as he looks to take the puck wide and beat defenders to the outside. He also displays a strong shot that absolutely jumps off his stick in the blink of an eye. (August 2013)"
Shawn Reznik from The Hockey Writers had this to say about him:
"Gersich can bolt around the ice with immense speed and quickness. A shorter player, he has some of the best agility I’ve seen and rarely loses momentum in his turns. In the offensive zone, Gersich is a scoring threat when he has possession of the puck. Even for his size, he doesn’t mind driving the net or getting creative in tight. His speed lends him to be a great forechecker and backchecker as well. Gersich developed his defensive game quite nicely with the NTDP season this year, but could stand to buffer it a bit more when he goes to North Dakota."
I agree with that assessment. Gersich fits into the mold of guys who I want the Washington Capitals to draft. Gersich has a lot of upside on offense thanks to that shot and his speed, which he loves to use to his advantage, as you can see in this video. In the first goal, you can see how good his shot is and how quick his release is. In the second goal, you can see how he’s not afraid to play around the boards and he uses his great quickness and instincts to add a second goal.
He is still a very raw prospect and still looks lost in the defensive zone at times, but I’ve definitely noticed improvement in that area, which is what you want to see from guys at his age. He’ll be attending the University of North Dakota and will start playing for them next season. I’m very excited to see how he develops. He could be a very valuable weapon for the Washington Capitals.