With his extension, the 30-year-old Herter becomes the fifteenth player from last year´s squad to stay with the Barons. The defense is complete already with six returning veterans and one new arrival, German Patrick Koeppchen, who will technically be considered a rookie after only four appearances last year.
It will be interesting to see if head coach Sean Simpson decides to mix up the defensive pairings after Chris Luongo´s departure to Nuremberg. For the past two seasons, Herter was mostly teamed up with Kent Fearns while Shane Peacock played with Hans Lodin. NHL prospect and last year´s DEL Rookie of the Year Christoph Schubert is expected to step up and replace Luongo alongside fellow-German Mike Smazal.
Ontario-native Jason Herter will enter his fourth straight DEL season this fall, his third with the Barons. He is known for his offensive skills, especially as a dangerous blueliner on special teams. He was the highest-scoring defenseman on the team last year with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) and tallied 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 1999-2000.
Although he was drafted in the first-round by the NHL´s Vancouver Canucks in 1989 (8th overall), Herter spent most of his pre-DEL career in the IHL and made his only NHL appearance with the New York Islanders in 1995-96.
