One thing the Flames have going for them in this rebuild is direct results from their tough love, tare down and rebuild methodology for building/developing talent.
The Oilers give first picks all the ice they can handle regardless of who well they play. Have a bad game and you will still get your 19 minutes of ice time next game. Yakupov the lone exception.
In Calgary there's a consistency ...
Brodie made the Flames but wasn't good enough in his own zone, sent to the farm, he rebelled a bit, then got with the program, and emerged ready to be a big minute defenseman after the Bouwmeester trade.
Backlund looked great early, hit inconsistency, and he too needed to work on things in his own zone. Was sent down to work on his defensive game, admitted he lost some offensive touch in doing so, ran into injuries that stunted him. Even this year he didn't have the consistency on attack and muddled through the fourth line.
To have cases like that makes talking to Baertschi much easier because you can point out the road that's been traveled. He can't really argue. The fact the Swiss took a pass on him is another one for him to ponder.
Another help is the cerebral play of Monahan. That's given Calgary an example the other way, a special case that kills the "Flames never let young players play a prominent role" theory. So a recent pick can see ... if you play a consistent, 200 foot game from the onset you're here to stay. If you don't you need to develop that in your game, but we'll help you with that and you'll get another chance.
Much better edict than what's gone on up north.
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