Quote:
Originally Posted by timbit
Well, if Portland is eliminated, you can be SURE that if Sven goes to Abbotsford, he will play and play a lot. They are the Flames development team and he is by far the best prospect they have.
It is about development.
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But you can't be sure.
Ward has said in past interviews that he's going with the guys that have gotten them to this point. This means Jessiman, Estoclet, PL3, etc. will be playing in the playoffs. The dilemma I posed as a question (that doesn't have an answer at this point) is will Ward play Baertschi if Portland gets eliminated?
I'll post the question I asked in the backburner thread:
Quote:
What if Baertschi and the Portland Winterhawks are eliminated in the upcoming game 7 and Sven is sent to Abby? (*knock-on-wood*)
Does Ward go with the guys that have got him this far? Or does he take out a "regular" and put Baertschi in? If he decides to go with the "regulars", does he feel pressure from Flames management to play Baertschi? Also, IF Ward decides to play Baertschi, what should be made of the favouritism to play Baertschi over a guy like, say, Reinhart?
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I sincerely believe that Ward would not play Baertschi to start with, but guys like Baertschi and Reinhart will definitely force Ward's hand into keeping a short leash on some of the "regulars".
I fully agree with you timbit about it being about development. But Baertschi doesn't know the systems yet. It took Lamb and Reinhart nearly two weeks to get into a game and Elson about three weeks. Ward wants these guys ready for his system before putting them in and I don't blame him.
It's a dilemma I wouldn't want to be put in if I was Ward.