Apologies for not explaining my Baertschi / Bennett ranking last night. I threw out the one-liner and went to sleep.
Other posters mentioned that some credit must be given to players that have already shown success at the NHL level, but have not yet found a way to stick there permanently.
In my opinion, Baertschi was unfairly utilized last year by the Flames. By no means did he play poorly enough to justify 4th line minutes, and he arguably had excellent chemistry with Monahan and Hudler to start the year. The organization appears to have gone out of their way to take pressure off Sven, by putting expectations on him that are not consistent with how other players on the Flames are treated.
I would use Glencross as an example to start the season. His first several games were dreadful. He would fire pucks up the middle of the ice in the d-zone, and plays would generally die on his stick. He continued to get top 6 minutes.
Baertschi had one or two rookie mistakes defensively, found himself on the 4th line, and shortly after that in the AHL. Inconsistent.
Granted you can't treat a veteran and a rookie the same, but meritocracy etc. etc.
Long winded post, but I am a big Sven supporter and think he has unfairly slid down the rankings of our prospects, especially since he has proven to be a .5 ppg player in the NHL without top 6 minutes or powerplay time. The kid is a player, and deserves to be ranked #2 in my opinion.
Will Sam Bennett be a great player? Most likely. Has he proven anything in the NHL to this point? No.
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