Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainYooh
I understand why people are trying to make parallels between Sven and Savard. We all had huge expectations and hopes for him. Similar analogies and arguments could also be made between Sven and other smaller-size highly skilled players like St.Lois and P.Kane. But the fact remains, while Baertschi is skilled, he is not as skilled as those guys. I've seen Sven closely without his gear; he still looks like a kid and he will be pushed around and ineffective in NHL unless he either elevates his skill level significantly to make it difficult for other players to push him around and defend against him despite his size or, if this is his maximum skill level, improves his overall on-ice work ethic and becomes an average contributing third-line player, which is exactly what Burke and Hartley want from him, I think.
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I don't understand the parallels at all. Savard never had trouble scoring points with the Flames, never was shy on the puck or taking shots for that matter. His issue was always work ethic and the fact he never went past centre ice his entire career. Baertschi's issues right now is about the opposite. He's trying, he's improving in the defensive zone, but he's gripping his stick too tight and shying away from potential scoring chances. It's like the exact opposite problem that we had with Savard.