Sven is a great prospect, but he simply isn't ready for the NHL (at least not last season - hopefully he will be this upcoming season, but I don't expect him to be in the lineup regularly until 2015/16).
The only way he was treated unfairly was that Feaster was forcing him to stay on the roster. Feaster gets canned, and Baertschi was sent down. Last thing I think we can all agree on is this team needed a hard kick in the butt to get rid of 'complacency' and 'entitlement' that has plagued this team since Darryl stepped down as head coach.
Sven was not good defensively. He did make some OUTSTANDING defensive plays that showed you how smart he was, but for the most part he simply didn't compete hard enough. He was also way too soft on the puck, and the more he was hit, the worse this got. Physically and mentally, he simply was not ready.
Colborne was physically a much superior player out there (physically!). He won a lot of puck battles and was generally hard to play against. When Colborne didn't impress, he got benched. When Monahan didn't impress, he got his ice-time severely cut. Conversely, when Baertschi had good games, he got increased ice-time and responsibilities (heck, Hartley gave him 20+ minutes in one game - the most out of all forwards IIRC). It wasn't that Hartley had it 'in' for Baertschi. It is that Baertschi simply wasn't ready and didn't bring enough CONSISTENTLY to the Flames.
Granlund came in, and Hartley gave him loads of responsibility. I was shocked, actually, especially with his defensive zone starts.
Every prospect that came in was given fair shots. I have no idea why people think Baertschi got the short end of the stick here. Feaster forced Baertschi on Hartley, and Hartley did the most he could I felt, but Baertschi simply wasn't ready physically or mentally.
Before anyone accuses me of not liking Baertschi as a prospect, I voted him as the #3 best prospect - though I had to think long and hard about it and almost didn't because I am very high on a few other prospects as well, and Granlund DID seem to pass Baertschi last year (Reinhart probably as well).
HOwever, I still think Baertschi has the highest upside out of anyone not named Monahan, Bennett and Gaudreau. Will he translate it? I am optimistic. I do think he just needs more development time.
Do we want to be like the Oilers and throw our prospects up on the team undeservedly? No. Do we want to be like Detroit where they develop in the best developmental league (and arguably, the 2nd best league PERIOD) in the world? Seems like a great place. People have this weird misconception about the AHL as a place that players go to rot away in. It is a developmental league where players get great development and seasoning. Baertschi is a player that just physically is not ready for the NHL (well, he wasn't last year anyways) and time in the AHL will only do him good, not 'stunt his development'. Stunting will happen in the NHL.
Treliving has stated numerous times now that rushing prospects is the worst thing you can do, and he wants the Flames to over-season rather than rush. Sounds logical, and seems to be something that has lots of great examples to prove his theory. What prospect has been ruined by over-development? I can't think of one off the top of my head.
I think Hartley is the perfect coach for a youth movement. Not only did he have a great track record with Hejduk and Tanguay, but even on the Flames he seems to be doing a pretty good job. He is hard when he needs to be, and he is extremely supportive when he needs to be as well. He was the one that took Wotherspoon aside and told him "You can be more than just a defensive-defencemen. I want you to build your offensive game up and I think there is offence there" or something like that.
Heck, we all know him and Blair Jones got into a heated argument, and Jones got demoted right away. Hartley wanted him to be much more physical and hard-working apparently. Anyways, we all thought that it was done for Jones as a Flame. Next season, what happens? Jones gets called up, immediately gets PP time, and the entire PP was run around Jones and his shot (other players were trying to set up Jones for the one-timer).
If Baertschi wants a spot on the team, he will earn it. Simple as that. Nobody is going to hold back Baertschi unfairly, and nobody has until this point.
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