Quote:
Originally Posted by Dienasty
Now you are putting words in my mouth.
1) Hudler is not part of the Flames future plans, so why are you wasting useful minutes on him when the focus is 3-5 years down the road? Do you really think that Hudler is a significantly better player then Baertschi? I think a lot of Hudlers success has to do with his PPP. 8 of his 27 points were on the PP last year and he was a -13, although not a perfect stat just shows that he is scored on more then he scores. In comparison Baertschi has zero PPP out of his 10 last year.
2) I am not saying the young guys can do whatever they want on the ice, I am saying that when they do mess up they shouldn't be benched/scratched like a lot of the players are in Calgary. (which goes to my original point about Kobasew/St. Louis/Boyd/Backlund) these kids need to be afforded the oppurtunity to correct their mistakes. A lot of these kids aren't sure if they belong right off the bat, thus putting them in situations where they can succeed gives them confidence. When you play with confidence you go on instinct rather then over thinking, and second guessing. Flames have institutionalized a fear of making mistakes. Hockey is a game of mistakes, I didn't see Iggy get relegated to the fourth line like Baertschi did when he turned the puck over and coasted back.
3) By sending Baertschi down to the AHL, what does he have to prove? The Heat were the best team in the AHL when he was down there. He was a point a game player before the NHL season started, and has basically proven that he is too good for that league. To take the next step he needs to be getting that ice time at the NHL level. 18+ minutes, with numerous oppurtunites on the power play. If he fails well at least he did it in a season we will probably finish last anyways. If he succeeds then we finally have our first legitimate piece for the rebuild. Either way we find out.
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For your 1st point, i don't think any of the veteran players are going to be here in 4-5 years. So are they all supose to play 15 minutes or less and no PP time?
I do agree with your 2nd point and i hope its something that Hartely changes this season.
Not sure about 3rd point because i don't think Sven will ever be back in the AHL.