Sven Baertschi Discussion Thread

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Good thing we're not treated like hockey prospects in our day to day lives. If we were, I would have given up after reading all the articles and prognostications that would have been written after my "disastrous" second year of undergrad.

People need to relax and let the growth and maturity happen.

[savardandjokinen]

Sven is my boy he will be good

[wwkayaker]

Sven will be playing for the Flames full time this year. Burke sent a strong message last season and I think Sven will respond.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by -TC-

If the Flames are honest, what do they REALLY have in Baertschi?

A guy who's an AHL top 2/NHL top 6 forward with defensive gaps and some offensive upside...

For me that's a formula for the AHL until he figures out how to play defense or he's trade bait.

The Flames need guys who can play in both ends of the ice and Baertschi isn't that guy yet...

Leave him in the minors until he proves he can commit to playing on both sides of the puck, IMHO.

By that thinking there's an awful lot of players who should be in the AHL, you must have hated when Iginla stepped on the ice the last few years here. or did you hypocritically cheer when he scored?

[FBI]

Well despite all the haters, the collective CP still voted him #3 best prospect so we aren't giving up on him just yet..

[Monahan23]

A year ago everyone was ****ing their pants over this guy and saying he's gonna be a star. Now everyone wants him gone or saying he's the next Saprykin. Most of this is just ignorance. He played on his off wing for most of the year, he played with checking forwards and Monahan's potential fell off a cliff when Sven got sent down. When he was played with scoring players and on Left Wing he was one of the AHL's best players.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

Here you go - put all Sven Baertschi discussion here, not in threads regarding Trade Speculation, Kevin Hayes, etc. No need to clog up other topical threads with Sven talk.

Wah.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by mac_82

Sophomore slump. He will be fine.

Now that the hype machine is focused on Bennett and Gaudreau he will excel with less pressure.

Sophmore slump? He was a rookie last year and the year before he had 10 points.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Monahan23

A year ago everyone was ****ing their pants over this guy and saying he's gonna be a star. Now everyone wants him gone or saying he's the next Saprykin. Most of this is just ignorance. He played on his off wing for most of the year, he played with checking forwards and Monahan's potential fell off a cliff when Sven got sent down. When he was played with scoring players and on Left Wing he was one of the AHL's best players.

Not being able to play the off-wing hurts his chances of making the team. Saying Monahan's potential fell off the cliff when Sven left makes no sense.

You have a lot of excuses for him but if he plays like he did last season he will be trending to bust territory.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by Fire

Not being able to play the off-wing hurts his chances of making the team. Saying Monahan's potential fell off the cliff when Sven left makes no sense.

You have a lot of excuses for him but if he plays like he did last season he will be trending to bust territory.

He's already producing at a 40+ point pace in the NHL.

And for all the criticism, he's not THAT bad defensively, he's just not where a guy with his skills should be.

Even if he makes no progress at all for the rest of his career, he's already got the ability to carve out an NHL career.

If he plays like he did last season, he could easily land a $3m contract playing in the Eastern Conference somewhere.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

He's already producing at a 40+ point pace in the NHL.

And for all the criticism, he's not THAT bad defensively, he's just not where a guy with his skills should be.

Even if he makes no progress at all for the rest of his career, he's already got the ability to carve out an NHL career.

If he plays like he did last season, he could easily land a $3m contract playing in the Eastern Conference somewhere.

Completely agree with this. While nobody is going to confuse him with Bergeron or Kopitar, he's no worse defensively than most 20-22 yr old offensive forwards. His defensive issues are largely overblown.

[Monahan23]

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by RyZ

His defensive issues are largely overblown.

Obviously they aren't, or he wouldn't have been demoted. He also still has a lot to learn about being a pro, which he continued to struggle with at the AHL level. I hope the Flames invested some time and energy into working with him this summer to help him progress, even if that meant getting him a full-time live-in trainer. Baertschi should be in the gym every day and watching video every night. If he shows that type of commitment he'll make a big impression on Burke/Treliving, and that will also show up on the ice during training camp.

[heep223]

It's been mentioned already but man, if Sven played RW he'd probably be on the roster. It's going to be tough to crack the lineup at LW. Especially with another certain small skill guy knocking on the door.

[mile]

Originally Posted by Monahan23

A year ago everyone was ****ing their pants over this guy and saying he's gonna be a star. Now everyone wants him gone or saying he's the next Saprykin.

I think most people here fall in the middle of the two extremes you are describing. He isn't going to be a bust, but he definitely needs more work. He played well in the middle of his AHL stint but struggled again in the playoffs - I'd like to see him put it together for a full season with no excuses. I want to hear that he is being flat out dominant before he plays in the NHL, and not just "showing improvement" or "figuring it out."

I won't be surprised if he makes the team out of training camp, but I am expecting him to start the season in the AHL. What I am hoping is that fans don't overreact or panic if he does get sent down. And this is applicable to any top prospect we have like Gaudreau or Baertschi - getting sent down isn't a bad thing at all. The anger some people (not you) are showing about player X deserving a roster spot when they get assigned to the AHL needs be toned down. These players are not getting sent down without a good reason.

When a player like Baertschi, Gaudreau, etc. is sent down over a player like D. Jones, it's because management and coaches know a Baerstchi/Gaudreau can still improve and haven't reached their full potential, as opposed to being a finished product. It's easy to play Sven in the lineup right now and have him be a 40 point player but we know he can be better than that.

Treliving is a big believer in Sven and expects him to compete hard at training camp. Sven isn't going anywhere anytime soon because Treliving is confident he will eventually get to where he should be...it just may not happen this season, and that's fine.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by T@T

By that thinking there's an awful lot of players who should be in the AHL, you must have hated when Iginla stepped on the ice the last few years here. or did you hypocritically cheer when he scored?

the AHL or not on the Flames...

I never liked watching Iginla float, but I think comparing his body of work with that of an unproven prospect is a pretty long reach.

And I've always cheered, every single goal.

[Vinny01]

He was looking like a top prospect in the whole league the year after he went 13th. 2 ppg in the dub then the three goals in 5 days I am pretty sure everyone thought we had a future superstar on our hands. Even the first 20 or so AHL games during the lockout he was a ppg player looking like a star.

He struggled last year but this is not a player to write off. When he exploded in the year after his draft he was a prospect the organization did not have since Dion was drafted. Since then however Monahan was picked, followed by Bennett. Gaudreau has developed so much he gets more attention than Sven.

This is a huge summer and I get the feeling Sven is going to impress come the fall and make an impact in the NHL this year. My biggest concern with him is the injuries. Seems like he is always banged up

[savardandjokinen]

He's not that bad defensively. Infact he's decent there. He just lacks a bit physically but his offence can overshadow this. He will be a good player so just think about we are saying about him. He should make it but with Burke anything can happen. He's also really easy to get along with so that should and could help.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

He's not that bad defensively. Infact he's decent there. He just lacks a bit physically but his offence can overshadow this. He will be a good player so just think about we are saying about him. He should make it but with Burke anything can happen. He's also really easy to get along with so that should and could help.

So if Sven doesn't make the opening day roster it will be because of Burke's irrational hatred for him? I hope he becomes a 1st line talent but the excuses some people have for him is too much. Burke hates him, he was forced to play on his off-wing, Hartley mistreated him, he had to play with grinders...

[MVW]

I think Sven had a slow start in the AHL for 2 reasons.

1) He played his off wing, &

2) Ward spent a lot of time with him teaching him the defensive part of the game. Baertschi was behind others such as Granlund and Reinhart in regards to knowing the system down there, so when he was first sent down his focus was on defence, which obviously affected his production as we see with most forwards playing that kind of role.

I get why people have concerns, but I'm not, if anything I'm more excited about him now because I know he's going to be a more complete player. His skills didn't just disappear.