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Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
Sven was invisible for the most part. If I wasn't following him specifically to see how he was performing, I wouldn't have noticed him at all except for that one scoring chance he had.
A few negative things did stand out to me:
- He looked slow out there. Hopefully it was just fatigue, but he was definitely slow.
- He continually lost puck battles. Over and over. Gaudreau finds a way to win some, not necessarily being physical, but being smart. Unless I lost sight of Baertschi while he was on the ice, I didn't see a single instance of him winning a battle.
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Yeah, every time the puck was contested along the boards the opposing player came away with the puck. I feel like Sven is trying but it isn't working.
The speed is also another concern. Hartley wants his players to be able to skate and Sven looked subpar there last night, although it may be fatigue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
I think anyone that is stating that he is being mishandled is wrong - he isn't NHL-caliber from what I saw yesterday and last season. There is zero reason to believe Hartley dislikes him, or even if he does, that he doesn't want Baertschi to succeed. This organization desperately wants this kid to succeed.
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Sven definitely has the backing of Treliving - he is a supporter of Sven, and while I like to believe Hartley is too, I just get the sense Hartley isn't as enthused about him, despite the positive things he has said about him. I watched Hartley's pre-game interview yesterday and he didn't seem as jovial talking about Sven as he has about his other players. Hartley was saying nice things about Sven, but it didn't seem genuine to me. I hope I'm wrong about this though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
I think anyone that is saying he is busting is also wrong - this kid is super-talented and an incredibly hard-working player. Some players just take longer to develop, and I believe Feaster's mishandling of him last year was an issue that he is only starting to get over from a mental standpoint, and his body was simply not ready for the NHL (speed, strength) and the injuries were a bit concerning because I don't think he had adjusted his play to how he can succeed in the NHL.
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I disagree with most about this season being a make or break season for Sven. He needs to be in the AHL for at least half a season this year, maybe even a full one. He is still a work in progress - Byron is a very good example of a player we've had who has had to put in 3/4 seasons in the AHL before he was ready. This mentality that he HAS to make it his season is something he needs to forget about, and he needs to focus on developing at his own pace.