MONDAY FEATURE: Versatility Allowing Gersich Extended AHL Tenure With Bears

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HERSHEY, Pa. - For Shane Gersich, Washington Capitals 5th round (134th overall) selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, this past off-season was a bit different than the previous summers during his first four years at the professional level.

"That was my first time being a free agent and, you know, it was kind of a waiting game. Your agent is kind of doing everything, and they're kind of waiting it out. I was talking to Hershey the whole time, and ultimately, I thought this was the best place for me," Gerisch told InsideAHLHockey.com of his decision to return to the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Hershey Bears on an AHL contract for the 2022-23 season.

"I'm obviously familiar with all the culture and everything that goes on here, and I think it's the best place to play in the American League. So obviously, I'm super happy to be back," the Chaska, MN native added.

Coming off of his best offensive season (14 goals, 20 assists in 2021-2022), this summer was filled with the same conditioning and prep work, but waiting for the calls to come from his agent was admittedly a bit more difficult and quite a change for Gersich.

"Yeah, it was weird. I mean, I think you tried to try to approach it by, you know, doing what you do every day, working out and skating and, you know, trying to keep your mind off as much as possible,” Gersich said of entering the unknown that is free agency. "You kind of let your agent do all the work, and then you know, when the calls come you, you kind of go from there, I guess."

And there were calls.

"Yeah, there were a couple choices I had," Gersich admitted. "And I think, you know, ultimately, like I said, it came down to me being familiar here. And it was a place that I wanted to come back to and play."

His head coach, Todd Nelson, is quite pleased with Gersich;s decision as well.

"He's a good skater," Nelson said of the fifth-year pro. "He gets in on the forecheck real, real well, he's killed a lot of penalties for us and he's really good in the locker room; the guys like him a lot. He's a glue guy in there. So like, you need players like that to be part of a good hockey team."

For Gersich, being that 'glue guy' comes naturally in Hershey. After his final season at the University of North Dakota, Gersich joined the Capitals, appearing in three games and two in the postseason during the 2017-2018 season when Washington won their first Stanley Cup. He reported to Hershey the following season.

"Yeah, I've been here five years, and I know a lot of guys have been here for a while," Gersich said. "So we had a really close group in that room. And, you know, it makes it fun coming to the rink every day. And, you know, obviously we're competing super hard against each other. But we [have] a lot of fun out there. So it's a great group."

And the group is having quite a bit of fun as well. In warmups, Gersich typically bumps into some guys along the boards. Each time, they work a little closer to rookie Ethan Frank who eyes them with a bit of caution.

"Yeah, we're getting him going," Gersich laughed. "It's his first year. So no, like I said, it's a close group and like having fun, and working hard."

But it hasn't just been all fun for Gersich this year, who missed several games with an upper-body injury.

"This year, yeah, it was my head, obviously, so I've had that once before, and it's kind of a weird injury," Gerisch said. "I mean, it's kind of a waiting game, you know, you're just trying to feel better every day. And I was coming in here and working out still, so I was still staying active, but you can't get on the ice. So just trying to be positive when you're injured that's the hardest part; not being around the guys and not getting in that routine. But you just try to stay as active as you can, and, you know, kind of go from there."

On the last practice before returning to the line-up, Gersich along with Gabe Carlsson and Lucas Johansen remained on the ice working with goaltenders Hunter Shepard and Zach Fucale in a spirited competition.

"Obviously when you're trying to get back, you have to get your legs back into it and your wind, so you want to make sure you're working extra hard so when you get back in the game, you're not winded or anything," Gersich said. "We have a great staff here and not only make sure that you know, we're staying on top of everything and we're ready to go for the game."

And while there has been some changes in the coaching staff over the course of his years in Hershey, the tradition of winning is something that Gersich said has remained constant.

"Yeah, I think we have had three coaches here and you know, all of them bring kind of a different element," Gersich stated. "I think it's been great this year with Nellie [head coach Todd Nelson]; he's brought a great culture to the locker room, and he expects us to work every day and at the same time enjoy the game. Like I said, it's a group that's willing to dig in and put in that extra work and it's been paying off so far, so hopefully we can keep going."

And like his current head coach, Gersich fully sees the benefit of playing in all of these tight contests already this season.

"If you're down in the game, it's just trying to crawl back. I think it's going to help us down the line when we get into those types of games down the stretch and then in the playoffs. You know to kind of go through a little adversity early and learn from it and kind of go from there," Gersich said.

As the Bears head into the second half of their schedule and beyond there will be more travel, and like his teammates, Gersich is looking forward to the team-bonding and quality time the players get to have with road trips.

"Yeah, I think it's obviously great playing at home. We have amazing fans. It's packed every night, so it's pretty cool to play here," Gersich said, before talking about the team's upcoming road trips, "You know when we get on the road it's nice to be with the guys, go for dinner and just be around all the guys because, you know, [when] we're at home everyone kind of goes back to their places, and then you come to the rink and you see everyone, but [on the road] you're surrounded [by the] guys more and it makes it a lot of fun."

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