Quote:
Originally Posted by Dienasty
For the talk about Baertschi and him not being dominant, I really would not worry about it at all.
I am not sure if anyone watched him with Portland/AHL, but I saw a few games where he looked very average. He isn't huge, he doesn't have an incredible shot, and he isn't the fastest guy. What he does do however is he wins battles in the corner, has excellent vision as well as excellent puck possession skills. Those are not eye popping skills but if you watch a game he usually isn't the guy you notice.
However when you look at the score sheet often times he has a goal and a couple assists by the end of the night. He isn't a dazzler but he can control the pace of play with his possession and has the ability to find the open guy.
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I don't think you can use performance in the WHL as a indicator for performance in the NHL. They are two very different leagues with very different levels of play. Very average players can have excellent WHL careers and completely fizzle out in the NHL. One name that comes to mind is Brad Moran. Same size, same sort of player, however never got off the ground in the NHL. Had an amazing WHL career, solid AHL career, talents didn't translate to the NHL at all.
I agree with JJsChaos, the kid has some sort of entitlement issue where he thinks he deserves better then he is getting and doesn't work as hard as the other rookies. He's been told by fans and management he's the next big thing, it's gone to his head and he doesn't work for anything because he expects it. Based on last night, I'd rather seen Reinhart or Grandlund get his spot on the opening night roster in Calgary as a very clear message from Management that this half-assing in Development Camps and Prospect Tourneys doesn't fly.