Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
Let's put that in context. Sven was a 2.0 PPG player, but he played an abbreviated season because of injuries and tournaments. Those 25 games he missed likely would have impacted that scoring streak. Sven was also very lucky to play on a pretty stacked Portland Winterhawks team that was the highest scoring in the WHL, playing along side Ty Rattie who had 121 points, good for 1.75 PPG. On a league wide comparison Brendan Shinnimin won the scoring title with 134 points , good for 1.94 PPG, but on a Tri-Cities team that scored 47 less goals. Mark Stone scored 123 points, good for 1.86 PPG, on a team that scored 55 less goals. Sven's season was damn impressive, but let's keep it in context. Also, those games lost to injury raise another question, that being Sven's durability.
The thing I always look at when I consider players is the impact they have on their respective teams. Is the guy a proven winner? Baertschi has had some great individual stats, but what has he won? Has he elevated his teams? Has winning followed him around? I like guys who have played on winners and have winning follow them around. It's kind of like when the puck follows a guy around. You love having those guys on your side. Hopefully he steps up this season and becomes one of those guys. Regardless of this season's outcome it appears we do have one of those guys at BC. If Sven steps it up, we'll have two and be in great position going forward.
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If you're going to break down his contributions, you should be including his play-offs. He led the WHL playoffs in scoring 14-20-34 in his last year where they lost a 7 game series in which the goalie on the other team was the MVP (Brossoit). He was 5th in playoff scoring as a rookie the previous year playing on the 2nd line 10-17-27.
I agree that winning is something to look for (and Gaudreau is one of the most exciting examples of a guy who wins Championships consistently), but losing in the finals while being a top scorer is different than losing in the first round and being invisible. I might be reading more criticism into your post than you intended, but it isn't like Sven has proven to be some wilting flower when the games got tough.