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Shane Gersich likely to make NHL debut Wednesday against New York Rangers

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Tuesday afternoon, the Washington Capitals took the ice at noon for practice after defeating the New York Rangers 4-2 – their eighth win in their last nine games. Head coach Barry Trotz made some changes to the forward lines, and it appears rookie Shane Gersich will make his NHL debut against the Rangers Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.

Here are the lines per the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan and NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir.

Trotz added after practice that he likes Gersich’s “speed, enthusiasm and hockey IQ.”

Last week, Gersich decided to forego his senior season with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and sign an entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. On March 24, he joined the team in Montreal for practice and has since been getting familiar with Barry Trotz’s system.

Fellow UND alum TJ Oshie has spent time with Gersich to help hasten his initiation to the NHL.

“It’s a pretty cool time for him,” Oshie said in Montreal. “A lot of the onus is on the older guys here and even some of the younger guys to make him feel welcome, take him under our wing. I think when you are young guy and sign and you’re with a new group, the hardest challenge is the stuff away from the ice, feeling welcome away from the ice. We had him out to dinner. I’ve been trying to take him under my wing a little being a North Dakota guy. On the ice, he seems like he’s right at home, he’s comfortable on the ice.”

Gersich has called his signing with the Capitals “a dream come true.”

During his sophomore season at UND, Gersich, a former teammate of NHL All-Star Game MVP Brock Boeser, scored 21 goals and 16 assists in 40 games. Gersich added 13 goals and 16 assists in 40 games during his junior year, leading the Fighting Hawks in shots (125). In 2016, Gersich won a national championship as a freshman.

The forward is the nephew of former NHL forwards Aaron, Neal and Paul Broten.

Headline photo: @shane_gersich9

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