[News] Sven Baertschi retires

[DionTheDman]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancou...ssional-hockey

Originally, Baertschi was the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames. He was acquired by the Canucks for a second round draft pick that the Flames used to select defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

During his NHL career, Baertschi appeared in just two playoff games both for the Canucks against Calgary in 2015.

[bdubbs]

Pretty young to call it a career. Was this related to concussion issues I wonder?

[kipperiggy]

I know he was highly touted when we drafted him but Rasmus for Baertschi is a hell of a deal in hindsight.

[PeteMoss]

Had high hopes for him, but seems like he peaked at a really young age.

[UKflames]

Got a signed Baertschi shirt on my wall in the office. Always felt he could have been so much more of a player.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Had high hopes for him, but seems like he peaked at a really young age.

Same. Was excited by that pick. I watched him practice at Winsport back in the day...he seemed so slick and smooth and really dedicated, last player on the ice still practicing stuff...

Oh Sven, we hardly knew ye.

Happy retirement, Baert-man.

[Jacks]

He was acquired by the Canucks for a second round draft pick that the Flames used to select defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

Jim Benning is the gift that keeps on giving.

[PuckSlap]

I was stoked about this guy. What a shame.

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[AndyM]

I'll never forget him getting absolutely rocked at the Saddledome during the World Juniors. It was scary. You could hear a pin drop.

[GioforPM]

Best known for almost breaking CP when he got traded.

[boogerz]

$16M in career earnings, excluding his Swiss league salary...not too shabby

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by PuckSlap

I was stoked about this guy. What a shame.

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I remember falling for the hype and making some stupid comment on Facebook about how he was going to be the next Iginla. I get reminded of it every time it shows up on my Facebook Memories.

[1qqaaz]

A guy who came from a low income single-parent household. Was almost always the last to leave practice while a Flame/Canuck. Did tons of charity work - rivaled Backlund in that regard.

Glad to see that he has some pretty decent career earnings. I maintain that he was a pretty good draft pick. He was two points per game in his D+1 year, which was the best in the CHL at the time. Even a bit better than Huberdeau, who was drafted 10 spots higher.

[savardandjokinen]

I still think Hartley and Burke ruined him. Shane O'Brien discussed how mean Hartley was to Sven on a podcast.

Glad we got Rasmus for him, truly believe he would have had a good career with the Canucks and onward if it weren't for concussion issues.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Inferno

I remember falling for the hype and making some stupid comment on Facebook about how he was going to be the next Iginla. I get reminded of it every time it shows up on my Facebook Memories.

Haha hate that. I remember being at the 2003 Labour Day rematch in Edmonton when Stamps lost like 38-0 and I was getting razzed. I was loudly telling people to just wait for hockey season, because we had some hotshot prospect coming up who'd become a stud and rip apart the Oilers annually. Told everyone to remember the name: "CHUCK KOBASEW!!", I said it over and over. I may have been slightly off on that one...

...though to be fair, we did go to the Final that year. All thanks to Chucky lol

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

I still think Hartley and Burke ruined him. Shane O'Brien discussed how mean Hartley was to Sven on a podcast.

Glad we got Rasmus for him, truly believe he would have had a good career with the Canucks and onward if it weren't for concussion issues.

lol yep, was going to comment if Burke & Hartley bullied him into this too

[rollie619]

If you look at the '11 draft impartially for us to get Huberdeau as opposed to having JG and Sven it dosen't look so bad. Kind of like the '02 draft and getting J bouw and Stajan as opposed to Nystrom. We gave a lot of flak in the 2010s for not developing our own talent, but sometimes you'd rather have who we ended up with. I remember at the time the '11 draft was lauded as Feasters best draft.

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

I still think Hartley and Burke ruined him. Shane O'Brien discussed how mean Hartley was to Sven on a podcast.

Glad we got Rasmus for him, truly believe he would have had a good career with the Canucks and onward if it weren't for concussion issues.

Burke was right though. Sven did need to learn to play in all three zones.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Svensational promise at one time.

[FlamesAddiction]

He was only 22 when he left the Flames organization, so I don't think the Flames staff ruined him. He spent more time on the farm team than he did in Calgary and didn't exactly light it up there either. I think injuries were the biggest factor. The guy missed significant time and never played a full season.

[Royle9]

Still have my Sven jersey, had such high hopes and he looked so good his first few games.
It’s a shame Hartley destroyed the kids confidence, he legit never got that swagger back.

Given what Stajan said, Bob was unbelievably ruthless and downright nasty to Sven.
Feel bad for the kid.