Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
Well, what was Hartley to do there? Colborne was waiver-eligible. Flames traded for him fully knowing this (and why he was cheap). This was just simple asset management. Also, without a doubt Colborne took huge strides in his development. He is proving himself to be a very coach-able player.
Baertschi just wasn't ready. It was very apparent that Feaster was forcing Hartley to keep Baertschi in the lineup. Burke took over and stated that "Hartley now has full control on the roster" - Baertschi went down immediately. Baertschi struggled in Abbotsford for the first while. Baertschi simply came to camp either mentally or physically unprepared, and it showed.
Baertschi is rounding back into form finally, to the player we all thought he would be. Some prospects take longer. He simply was not ready this year - for whatever reason it may be. Given Hartley's support of all the rest of the young players and rookies, it makes it a very unlikely case to point the finger and say "Baertschi was unfairly treated or mismanaged". Hartley did a wonderful job with the rest of the rookies throughout the year. It becomes more difficult to blame Hartley in hindsight, no?
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Reduce his minutes or let him watch a few games from the press box. And Baertschi was playing fine up to his first benching.