Sven "Fricken" Bartschi!

[TheGrimm]

It's hard not to get a bit amped at what his potential is... To me Baertschi has the key ingredients to be a successful top 6 guy..

Work ethic... Check.
Skill... Check.
Hockey sense... Check.

Hard to say how well it will translate to the NHL game, but there is no doubt in my mind he has at least a very solid future in the NHL.

[PlayfulGenius]

I think he'll top out as a legit, top-line LW.

I think he'll be a PPG player in the NHL

Perhaps a Joey Mullen-like career.

An Alex Tanguay on the low end... And a Marty St Louis if everything works out perfectly... We can hope

[Kipperking]

God save this kid with these expectations...

[Ashasx]

The thing is, the people with high expectations won't be the ones complaining if he doesn't score 70 points next season. It'll be the usual suspects.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

If he has a Dion Phaneuf-like rookie year, I'll be ecstatic.

I think his point production will largely determine who he plays with. If he plays with Cammalleri, he could very well have 40 points or more. He might be the perfect playmaker for Squid.

Expectations aside, this kid has been fun to watch in his junior career.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Kipperking

God save this kid with these expectations...

Hahaha, ias if my expectations have any impact on the kid.

I expected the Penguins to win the Cup this year... Did I ruin their chances?!?!

[getbak]

I expect him to be in the Top 10 of career points for Swiss players by the end of next season: http://www.nhl.com/ice/careerstats.h...dersAllSeasons

Hell, I expect him to be in the Top 10 by the end of October (or one good game).

[kehatch]

Forwards that scored more then 40-points in their first year of pro that were 20 or under (place picked overall in brackets):

11/12: Landeskog (2), Hopkins (1)
10/11: Skinner (7), Stepan (51). Ebergle (22), Hall (1)
09/10: Duchene (3), Taveres (1), Bergfors (23), Benn (129)
08/09: Berglund (25), Stamkos (1), Frolik (10)

About 3 a season accomplish it. A pretty rare accomplishment.

This season Huberdeau, Strome, Baertschi, Yakupov, Zibanjed, Schiefele, Armia, Foresburg, Grigerenko, Tervainen, and a few others from this seasons draft class will all be giving it a go.

Also note since 2007 only one rookie forward has scored 70+, three 60+, and fourteen 50+ and most of them were older then 20.

I think Baertschi has a chance of putting up decent numbers next season. But there is a very real chance he puts up 30-points or so. I hope that doesn't lead to a Backlund level analysis of him because people had unreasonable expectations.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

Originally Posted by kehatch

I think Baertschi has a chance of putting up decent numbers next season. But there is a very real chance he puts up 30-points or so. I hope that doesn't lead to a Backlund level analysis of him because people had unreasonable expectations.

2 totally different players based on a small sample. One looks totally in 'awe' of everything around him, the other just plays his game.

[RT14]

I expect anywhere from 30-50 points next year depending on the new coach and how he distributea ice-time and utilizes youth. That said, I wouldn't be totally shocked to see 60 or 70 points from him either.

Basically, having been a Flames fan all my life I am preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

Hahaha, ias if my expectations have any impact on the kid.

I expected the Penguins to win the Cup this year... Did I ruin their chances?!?!

Are you suggesting fan expectations don't affect player performance?

[Kipperking]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

Hahaha, ias if my expectations have any impact on the kid.

I expected the Penguins to win the Cup this year... Did I ruin their chances?!?!

You alone no, but if a city starved for young talent has similar expectations then it could.

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by getbak

I expect him to be in the Top 10 of career points for Swiss players by the end of next season: http://www.nhl.com/ice/careerstats.h...dersAllSeasons

Hell, I expect him to be in the Top 10 by the end of October (or one good game).

11th already? LOL.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Are you suggesting fan expectations don't affect player performance?

I'm not sure if it does are not, but there's been countless NHL players throuhout the years withg much higher expectations than Sven that turned out just fine... Besides, I'm just being honest with what I believe...I'm not going to lie because Sven might find out and get nervous or something... This whole thing is stupid, it reminds me of people getting mad when saying the word 'shut-out'.

I think Sven is going to be a PPG player in the NHL, and will go down as Top 5 or better in his draft class...what's wrong with that?

[Kipperking]

Only 9 players got a PPG average this season. I don't see Sven being in the same class as Malkin, Stamkos, Sedin, Giroux etc.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Kipperking

Only 9 players got a PPG average this season. I don't see Sven being in the same class as Malkin, Stamkos, Sedin, Giroux etc.

Great... I happen to think he'll come pretty damn close to the level Giroux was at last year... something like that... 2nd-tier of NHL Super Stars.

I hope he can prove to be as good as a Giroux or Marty St. Louis...but obviously everything would have to work out perfect...is possible though, heck, he was drafted higher than either of those players so its not like I'm making some crazy, ridiculous prediction here.

As I mentioned before, I see him developing into a Joe Mullen type career. Not as many points, likely, as the era is different, but a consistent 2nd-tier Star player.

[Kipperking]

Nobody said you were making a crazy prediction, if he turns out like how you foresee then awesome.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Kipperking

Nobody said you were making a crazy prediction, if he turns out like how you foresee then awesome.

In this thread and others, its been mentioned that my expectations are unrealistic and putting undue pressure on the kid...my god, however did Crosby manage???

Anyway, one thing we can all agree on is it'll be fun watching Sven this coming season...hopefully he stays healthy and makes a lot of progress

[Coach]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

As I mentioned before, I see him developing into a Joe Mullen type career. Not as many points, likely, as the era is different, but a consistent 2nd-tier Star player.

Maybe a Martin Erat type with a bit more offensive punch?

I agree with you I think Sven will be a stud. The guy has all the tools, including the effort (which is probably the most important one).

[Kipperking]

I think we can all agree that if everything goes right, that he'll be the best Swiss born forward to play in the NHL.