[MissTeeks]

A Sven article from the Portland paper today:

http://portlandtribune.com/sports/st...54769118999000

The 5-11, 185-pound Bartschi was relatively quiet the first two periods as Portland fell behind 3-1.

“I felt like I didn’t have that much energy the first two periods,” Bartschi said as he ate a postgame meal before the Hawks’ late-night flight to Edmonton. “I wasn’t playing like I wanted to play.

“I regrouped during the second intermission. It was like, ‘You gotta pick it up. We want to win this game.’ "

“Sven’s game went to another level, not only with the puck and challenging them offensively, but his backcheck was great,” Portland coach Mike Johnston said. “He was coming from behind and stripping pucks, catching guys from behind.

“His energy was incredible out there. It’s funny how at different points in a game, the energy flows both ways. Sven was the one player on the ice who really picked up the tempo of the game.”

“I was skating like crazy,” Bartschi said. “I had one or two good chances right away. As soon as I put the first one in, I was like, ‘We’re not going to give up this game.’

“I felt really confident that we would win. I know the whole team felt like that. We’ve done it the whole season. Even though (an opponent) was ahead by two goals, we always came back and won in the end.”

A year ago, Portland sent top-five draft picks Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter to the NHL. Johansen had a reasonably successful rookie year with the Columbus Blue Jackets; Niederreiter did not with the New York Islanders.

“I didn’t think Niederreiter was ready to go pro,” Johnston said. “They turned him pro a little bit too soon. Bartschi’s ready to go pro. I know that. You can tell by the way he plays, by the confidence.

“He was a big-game player tonight. He took over the game all by himself at times. He is ready to be a top-two line guy in the NHL, for sure.”

I love this kid.