Flames assign Sven Baertschi to the Heat

[Ozy_Flame]

At this point Sven's fate is in his own hands. Ward/Ftorek/Calgary coaching staff can support him, but it sounds like Sven needs to man up and realize the opportunity in front of him is a relatively short window of time to be the player he wants to be. As would be the case with any NHL'er of course.

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Dorkmaster

Don't really agree. Mackinnon is a 1st overall, Johnson spent time in the AHL and Hertl played pro prior to this year. I don't think that's really the issue here. Hudler has been able to help Monahan and there's still Cammalleri and a few others who are solid pros. I think from his lackluster performance all the way back to rookie camp indicates the problem is elsewhere.

ya,
this is likely. I don't think Sven has been mishandled. I think maybe he was told in the past that he has likely earned a spot on the Flames but without really doing so. Now Burke and co. don't feel that way. I agree, he can be better and he will get better. I hope he makes the jump and starts killing it in the AHL. He has the skills and hockey IQ, I hope he can get his mind on the right track.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by Clever_Iggy

The bolded part could have so many possible interpretations. Hopefully it's more along the lines of what I did when I was that age - playing XBox until all hours and maintaining a diet of pizza, hotwings and anything that could be heated up in the microwave.

I doubt it's anything that overt.

If you want to improve in your profession, there is that point where you think you're doing enough versus having the maturity to know you need to do more.

I think Sven might be at that point where Ward is trying to convince him that he needs to do more, and Sven is occasionally doing it but isn't yet seeing the immediate benefits. That can cause frustration and can make you wonder why you should bother doing X and Y when it hasn't given you a reward. Having the mental strength to push through that barrier is a mark of maturity.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Troy Ward was on the morning show with Boomer today and Baertschi was a pretty main topic.

Short version is this...

SB has some maturity issues off the ice that has affected his on ice peformance. 0 goals in 9 games and 1 assist in his last 7 or something along those lines.

He just hasnt grasped what is needed from him to be a good pro...yet, Thus it has manifested itself to a pretty poor showing on the ice and particularly in the area of poduction on the offensive end. Ward feels he (Sven) is starting to grasp things and that will start to show in his numbers. Ward did not sound too woried that it wouldnt happen, just wasnt sure how long it would take at this point.


Sounds reasonable to me.
Like many young guys befoe him and many more in the future....you just have to be patient with some of them more than others. SB appears to be one of those guys right now.

And just trying to add to Transplant, and correct me if you disagree, but when he was talking about maturity he was going as far as to mention just the day to day stuff that we probably take for granted. Find a place, learn to buy groceries...just taking care of himself in a different city, different country etc.

I never really thought to closely on it but the stuff most of us take for granted because we grew into taking care of ourselves, some of these pampered (it is what it is) hockey stars can get the band aid yanked off pretty quick.

He also said he needs to speed up quite a bit....probably because he is busy thinking things that will one day become automatic.

[BigFlameDog]

Something Pinder brought up that helps to bring down Sven anxiety was that Ryan Johannson (sp?) was up and down all last year and was even a healthy scratch a few times in the AHL...including during the playoffs. He seems to have bounced back nicely, can only hope the same for Sven.

(Disclaimer: I never checked the validity of Pinders statement but think he has a pretty good handle on the AHL based on his history))

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

I doubt it's anything that overt.

If you want to improve in your profession, there is that point where you think you're doing enough versus having the maturity to know you need to do more.

I think Sven might be at that point where Ward is trying to convince him that he needs to do more, and Sven is occasionally doing it but isn't yet seeing the immediate benefits. That can cause frustration and can make you wonder why you should bother doing X and Y when it hasn't given you a reward. Having the mental strength to push through that barrier is a mark of maturity.

I agree and I think you've nailed what the issue is when they say maturity issue / attitude problem. People jump way to quickly to more obviouls things that we sometimes see from players (drinking too much, partying instead of hitting the gym) etc... or even blatent statements that show a huge attitude problem.

I don't think any of that is what is wrong with Sven, I think it's what you said. From everything I've heard, Sven is a really nice kid, and doesn't have an attitude problem the way say Marc Savard did when he was here. What Sven is struggling with seems to be exactly what you said, he's not figured out to do more and simply too pre occupied with trying to rate himself versus others and analyzing whether what's being asked of him is fair or the same as what is being asked of others.

[Buff]

Macaulay Culkin became mature enough to take care of himself in Home Alone, why can't Sven do it in the NHL or AHL?

[Alberta_Beef]

Pure speculation on my part based on the "maturity" comments.

I think it is all about how he handled the situation where Feaster told the world that Sven was pretty much guaranteed a roster spot.

Instead of busting his ass to prove Feaster right, he let it go to his head and thought he was too good for the rookie tourney and didn't show up ready for camp.

I think "off the ice" is more about his preparation and such.

But like I said this is all nothing but my speculation.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Buff]

I think they know when talking about off-ice maturity that people are going to jump the gun and think he is a party machine, so they would have been more careful if he actually was a party animal. Perhaps he does some of that, what 20 year old making tonnes of cash wouldn't? However, they aren't going to label him in a negative light. You would think they would be careful not to do so as it would ruin the relationship between player and organization. Simply saying that he needs to have a more mature approach to life as a professional player isn't painting him in a bad light, it is just saying he isn't quite ready for the NHL yet.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

I doubt it's anything that overt.

If you want to improve in your profession, there is that point where you think you're doing enough versus having the maturity to know you need to do more.

I think Sven might be at that point where Ward is trying to convince him that he needs to do more, and Sven is occasionally doing it but isn't yet seeing the immediate benefits. That can cause frustration and can make you wonder why you should bother doing X and Y when it hasn't given you a reward. Having the mental strength to push through that barrier is a mark of maturity.

I agree. I was more making a comparison of what I was doing when I was 20 and it was considered about average for my peer group. A 20 year old that needs to compete with the best in the world needs to have a completely different approach to life... often when they don't have the knowledge how to do so.

Perhaps Sven just got a little compacent between last year and this season and it's a reality check that every day is a battle to be better because the requirements of the NHL are so high.

[Ashasx]

I think it should be said that Baertschi was amongst the fittest players at the prospects and main Flames' camps.

[Split98]

Disappointing, as I remember his post-practice drive was one of the things raved about Sven pre-draft. Last off the ice every practice kind of thing. Kinda thought the off-ice issues kids normally would run into wouldn't be a problem for him.

[cannon7]

I have to say, I don't think Burke could've been more discouraging to a young player. I don't know what Burke's intentions are towards Baertschi. It's clear Baertschi is lacking confidence, typical of a 20 year old.

I'm sure Ward is doing his best, but by the time Baertschi was sent down, he was already discouraged knowing Burke had his sights on him. I am wondering if Baertschi even sees a future in this organization. Hell, I'm wondering if Burke sees a future for Baertschi, too.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by cannon7

I have to say, I don't think Burke could've been more discouraging to a young player. I don't know what Burke's intentions are towards Baertschi. It's clear Baertschi is lacking confidence, typical of a 20 year old.

I'm sure Ward is doing his best, but by the time Baertschi was sent down, he was already discouraged knowing Burke had his sights on him. I am wondering if Baertschi even sees a future in this organization. Hell, I'm wondering if Burke sees a future for Baertschi, too.

Burke has to as there's a definite talent there. And I hope this isn't enough to discourage Baertschi. Spotlight players are going to see a lot more scrutiny than what Burke had to throw at him. I've been a little disappointed in how he responded to it so far, so thankfully we have someone like Ward to fall back on.

As a refresher, Burke's comments: "All I’ve seen so far is flashes of brilliance. Flashes of brilliance are fine if you’re working in the university, but they’re not much good to people in an NHL building."

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by cannon7

I have to say, I don't think Burke could've been more discouraging to a young player. I don't know what Burke's intentions are towards Baertschi. It's clear Baertschi is lacking confidence, typical of a 20 year old.

I'm sure Ward is doing his best, but by the time Baertschi was sent down, he was already discouraged knowing Burke had his sights on him. I am wondering if Baertschi even sees a future in this organization. Hell, I'm wondering if Burke sees a future for Baertschi, too.

Confidence or lack of confidence, whether it's fair or un-fair, Sven's response to this "adversity" he's had to face speaks volumes. He's tucking his tail and running right now from a tough situation. Would rather be a victim of a "mean GM or NHL coach" than prove his doubters wrong.

He's young, and has lots of time to change that tune, but it's better if the Flames force him to do it now or figure out that he doesn't have the right character at this point, versus making it easy on him then finding out he lacks that character when this team is ready to win and he's already making big dollars.

And if the Flames had already made their mind up about Sven, he'd still be playing in the NHL, playing him with Hudler to inflate his value for trade. The fact that they've sent him down and are willing to wait out Sven and force him come round shows they are still "working" with him versus given up on him.

Sven's problem is he feels like he proved he belongs in his 5 game call up years ago, and since then he's semingly pushed back and got upset every time the Flames have asked him to prove himself again. I agree it's a fairly typical 20 year old response, but one that he will have to get over if he wants to succeed, because success won't come for him long term until he responds to messages like this in a different fashion, versus looking around him to try and see if he thinks it's fair and focuses on that.

[btimbit]

Here's the Troy Ward interview. Sven stuff starts at 7:45

http://downloads.flames.nhl.com/podc...an960jan27.mp3

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by cannon7

I have to say, I don't think Burke could've been more discouraging to a young player. I don't know what Burke's intentions are towards Baertschi. It's clear Baertschi is lacking confidence, typical of a 20 year old.

I'm sure Ward is doing his best, but by the time Baertschi was sent down, he was already discouraged knowing Burke had his sights on him. I am wondering if Baertschi even sees a future in this organization. Hell, I'm wondering if Burke sees a future for Baertschi, too.

Sure he could have been discouraging. There's an old saying that "that's life in the NFL". I'm sure that behind the scenes there were conversations with sven with Bob Hartley and conversations with Sven with Burke, at least he got it straight.

There's a certain amount of mental toughness that has to be there to play this game or any other at the highest level. Its become apparent that Sven needs 10% less hugs and sunshine up the butt and about 50% more reality check, you aren't playing hard enough to be here.

If Sven losing his confidence this badly every time things don't go his way to the point of basically vanishing on the ice and shying away from doing anything, then he's not much good to the Flames is he, and no coddling and spoonfeeding is going to change that.

In other words, Sven needs to find some mental toughness.

[CliffFletcher]

One of his off-ice issues might be reading too much of his own press, both positive and negative, and getting all wound up about what media and the fans are saying about him. Learning to shut that stuff out is part of becoming a pro.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

One of his off-ice issues might be reading too much of his own press, both positive and negative, and getting all wound up about what media and the fans are saying about him. Learning to shut that stuff out is part of becoming a pro.

God help him if he ever read this board.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by strombad

God help him if he ever read this board.

If I was a player, I would.