SAN JOSE -- Tomas Hertl's rookie season with the San Jose Sharks was packed with meteoric highs and devastating lows, each sudden change in elevation a valuable learning experience.

Hertl grabbed the national spotlight in his third NHL game when he scored four goals against the New York Rangers on Oct. 8, 2013 at SAP Center. He capped the performance with a between-the-legs, top-shelf goal.

Two months later, Hertl's Calder Trophy dreams came to an end when he damaged two ligaments in his right knee Dec. 19 in a collision with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown. Hertl returned for the final two regular-season games and seven games in the Sharks' loss to the Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Life was a series of adjustments for Andre Burakovsky last season.

In migrating to the Ontario Hockey League from Sweden, the Erie Otters forward and Washington Capitals prospect thrust himself into a completely foreign situation.

His schedule became consumed by hockey, leaving him with little free time outside the rink. On the ice the smaller playing surface presented its own challenges, particularly when it came to proper positioning and keeping pace with the speed of the game.

Burakovsky, attending Washington's development camp this week, characterized his first several games with Erie as "really, really bad."

"I was wondering how I could play so well the year before then come over here and nothing really worked for me," he said. "It takes time to learn the game. You don't just learn it one day. It takes weeks."

To those around him, though, whatever struggles he may have had were negligible.

"If he had problems at the beginning," Erie coach Kris Knoblauch said, "he didn't show them."

New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer says nobody in the NHL is more deserving of the chance he's about to get than Cory Schneider.

Schneider will enter 2014-15 as the Devils' undisputed No. 1 goalie, armed with a multiyear contract extension he signed Wednesday.

"This guy more than anybody in the organization and maybe in the League deserves that opportunity," DeBoer told Northjersey.com on Tuesday. "He's waited for the opportunity. He's done all the right things. I'm really looking forward [to] the level he can get to playing 60, 65 games."

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Joshua Ho-Sang met with several teams prior to the 2014 NHL Draft, but he was taken aback following his sit-down with the New York Islanders. That's why he wasn't too surprised when they traded up with the Tampa Bay Lightning to grab the talented (and sometimes outspoken) center at No. 28.

"They were definitely the nicest," Ho-Sang said Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum after the first on-ice session at the team's annual prospect camp. "They just talked to me, they asked me some questions. I mean, the Islanders were one of the few teams, and I heard it with a lot of guys, they were asking me questions outside of hockey, just kind of getting to know them. I think that's unbelievable that they did that, and obviously I ended up here because of that. They took the time to kind of talk to me and I appreciate that very much. And the fact that they traded up for me is unbelievable."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Two years ago the Los Angeles Kings promoted forwards Dwight King and Jordan Nolan from the American Hockey League in the middle of the season and they helped them win the Stanley Cup. This spring that storyline played out again when Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson played prominent roles in the Kings' second championship.

It didn't escape Valentin Zykov and Adrian Kempe, who are years away from the NHL but know how to get there.

"When you see young guys get on the team and help them to win, of course it gives you confidence," Zykov said during Kings development camp. "You just try to follow what they've done … get better every year and try to do the same thing. Everybody wants to make the NHL as fast as they can."

Zykov, 19, and Kempe, 17, are the two biggest names at camp this week, fresh-faced players who might be lining up with Toffoli and Pearson in the coming years. They are big, sturdy power-forward types who fit right in with the Kings' identity.

"Obviously, as a coach, you're sitting there saying, 'That's a great deal,'" Boudreau told the Ducks website at development camp.

The Ducks acquired Kesler and a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft on June 27, sending center Nick Bonino, defenseman Luca Sbisa and a first-round and third-round pick in the 2014 draft to the Canucks.

"I loved Nick Bonino and [Sbisa], but you're getting a top-flight guy that can give [Ryan Getzlaf] a rest every now and then," Boudreau said. "It gives you strength down the middle. I've never coached a team in the NHL that's had a second-line center that you're going to have with Ryan Kesler. It's a great [acquisition], and it gets you excited."

FRISCO, Texas -- When the Dallas Stars chose defenseman Julius Honka with the 14th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, they did so knowing the 18-year-old's strengths are on offense.

That makes sense considering Honka had some impressive numbers in 62 games with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League last season: 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) in his first year playing in North America.

It's not surprising to hear him say he models himself after NHL defensemen known for playing a similar game: Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.

"Offensive game [is what I bring], absolutely," Honka said at Stars development camp. "I want to be a big part of that game. I like to play on the power play and a lot of offensive game. That's my style of hockey."

Nathan Beaulieu gave the Montreal Canadiens great bang for their buck during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It might have been a glimpse of what kind of value he can provide in 2014-15.

Beaulieu played a shade over 75 minutes in the playoffs, but it could be argued those minutes were a big reason the Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference Final.

WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and his scouting staff have excelled in the first round of the NHL Draft even as on-ice success has eluded the team since its arrival from Atlanta in 2011.

Two weeks after being hired by the Jets, Cheveldayoff selected center Mark Scheifele with the seventh pick in the first round the 2011 draft. The following year Cheveldayoff picked defenseman Jacob Trouba with the ninth pick, and the Jets continued to rebuild their blue line with Joshua Morrissey as the 13th pick in 2013.

COLUMBUS -- This time, center Alexander Wennberg is hoping to stick with the Columbus Blue Jackets when the NHL season begins.

The smooth center was their first pick (No. 14) in the 2013 NHL Draft and a year ago this week attended development camp at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.

Wennberg was wide-eyed, nervous, curious about the surroundings, and smaller. Neither management nor the Nacka, Sweden native had any expectations he would play in North America during the 2013-14 season.