Quote:
Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan
It's kind of sad to see his progression (if you'd even call it that) since he's been drafted. Looked like such a dynamic offensive player in junior and was one of the more exciting prospects we'd had in quite some time since there was such a dearth of offensive prospects in the system at that time. Today he looks like a player that just hasn't taken much of a step in the past 4 years or so. And there's no indication he'll be taking a big step any time soon.
Looking back, his emergency recall in 2012 might have hurt him more than anything. He scored 3 goals in 5 games and expectations for him after that were sky high, and obviously too much for him to handle. Maybe he just wasn't that good or maybe the pressure got to him, but he never came close to the player he could have. It's really unbelievable looking back that the 5 game emergency recall stint could end up being the hilight of his entire NHL career. That's crazy, and sad.
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What I find the most perplexing thing in regards to Sven is his lack of commitment. I still remember the stories that came out post draft about Sven staying on the ice after practice to work on things, or even after games. I remember Flames' management praising him for how difficult he was to find a few times at the hotel room - apparently while his other teammates were busy playing video games, Baertschi would be riding the bike.
I thought for sure this kid was a "can't miss" future NHL'er just based on his work ethic alone, regardless of talent. It has just been very ironic seeing him on the ice being the laziest player in Calgary for the last two season's worth of call-ups, and even more perplexing seeing the same thing happening in Vancouver. Just seems to have very little urgency in his game except on the PP. I don't even usually see it in the offensive zone 5v5.
It really is too bad - he had such a fantastic tool set. Good IQ as well. Just not much in the way of commitment and character - and those were two things that were considered huge strengths in his draft year.
Time is quickly running out for him. He has this season to start being a regular NHL'er, before he starts to bounce around from team to team on waivers, until finally he ends up heading back to Europe. I thought at least he would be skating hard and playing hard on the Canucks this year. Figured his agent or someone would have told him he needs to show more. Just isn't doing it. Makes you think he never will.