What Does Baertschi Have To Do...?

[Stay Golden]

If Sven isn't playing better than the wingers on the 3rd or 2nd line there is no point to expect he should be moved up.
I assume with the players coming back Sven will be back in the AHL before January.

[savardandjokinen]

In my opinion start with giving him a shot on the third line I think he has been better than ferland so switch them

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by New Era

I've been saying this for a while now,but Baertschi is no longer a good fit for this team. He doesn't play Flames hockey, no matter how hard he tries. The best thing for Baertschi and the Flames would be a trade. If the Flames can grab a young defender for Baertschi and give him a chance at a fresh start it is probably the best thing for all parties. As it is, Baertschi has fallen behind so many in the organization his hopes of getting a crack at the top nine is reliant on someone having a catastrophic injury and having the long term audition handed to him.

To be honest, I think you've been saying it so long that it's almost impossible to move you off this position.

Baertschi needs to continue playing well, he hasn't had a poor game since early in his call up. The Flames have fantastic depth on forward right now and guys like Sven and Ferland have been making the most of the 4th line minutes they're getting. He's playing hard and no signs of being negative about limited playing time.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Did you watch Portland much?

Baertschi was dominant, and was the catalyst of their offense. Where they are all at right now doesn't change that one bit.

Actually I watched 6 games total when Portland came to Kamloops and a few on the TV. Sven was the third best out of the three every single time. Look at my history

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

In my opinion start with giving him a shot on the third line I think he has been better than ferland so switch them

I think Ferland has had some jitters of late and is pressuring himself a bit. But if he can stay up a few more games.. hesitant to say Ferland has some upside that fits a void in the flames right now

[cannon7]

Max Reinhart was called up before Sven I believe and was sent down. Never got more than fourth line minutes. But that I don't hear any Flames fans questioning how he has been handled.

Baertschi should be encouraged that he has impressed the coaches beyond the likes of Reinhart and Knight. He probably will get sent down eventually, too, but if he keeps it up he'll be the first call-up.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Actually I watched 6 games total when Portland came to Kamloops and a few on the TV. Sven was the third best out of the three every single time. Look at my history

Well I watched at least 30 or 40 games because friends of the family had a son playing for the team.

I can assure you there was no doubt that Baertschi was the guy generating the offence. He was absolutely dominant all year.

[UKflames]

I think Sven is making good use of the limited time that he is getting right now. Whilst it may not be showing on the scoreboard, and that is how a lot of people judge players, he looks to be doing a lot of things right.

Last game against the coyotes there were quite a few occasions where you saw the old magic, one instance in the first really stood out for me. Sven had the puck behind the net, ducking and diving, went one way, sold the dummy and came out the other side putting a great pass to Ferland, who couldn't finish. He also looked more engaged along the boards and was wiggling his way out of tight corners.

I think if he keeps on this path everything will work out well for him, He is looking like a player on the right development trajectory and will be a good player for the flames.

[Caged Great]

The problem is that too many people are impatient. Not everyone develops like Monahan and Gaudreau have to this point. Most people take 4 or 5 years to figure it out if ever. Why write off a guy like Sven or Jankowski when they have been showing positive steps in their overall game, even though it hasn't quite translated 100% to the point department.

[Geeoff]

It looks like he'll at least have Stajan, who is somewhat offensively talented, to work with for a bit.

[Poe969]

He needs to play well enough for someone to start a 'frinkin Sven Baertschi thread.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

In my opinion start with giving him a shot on the third line I think he has been better than ferland so switch them

It's going to be interesting if this team gets reasonably healthy up front this season, because I think we're going to see a couple of choices where the players have been equally effective and it might come down to size. Do you keep Baertschi or Ferland up, all other things remaining equal? Do you dress Jooris or Byron, all other things remaining equal?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Max Reinhart was called up before Sven I believe and was sent down. Never got more than fourth line minutes. But that I don't hear any Flames fans questioning how he has been handled.

Baertschi should be encouraged that he has impressed the coaches beyond the likes of Reinhart and Knight. He probably will get sent down eventually, too, but if he keeps it up he'll be the first call-up.

As much as people like to hope that the prospects compete on equal ground, the fact is 1st round picks are given a lot more rope than prospects that were drafted later. Obviously this only goes so far, but right now I think Baertschi is still living off the goodwill from being a 1st rounder. I personally don't think his play or production has warranted him staying in the NHL. I don't necessarily disagree with this approach either as 1st round picks are pretty important and it really sucks when they don't work out.

The team is winning and playing well though, so I don't see the harm in it.

[BigFlameDog]

He's still going to be fine...couple years and he will be established (hopefully here) and all this noise will be forgotten. Some guys take longer for their nuts to drop....he will follow a similar path to Backlund IMO.

[GioforPM]

He may improve to make plays consistently at NHL speed or he may not (I think this is the main issue at persent). But looking at whether he was "dominant" in 2011 in junior hockey isn't really relevant at this point IMO. That league (and the AHL) are slower in overall pace. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way because the players are all skating hard and moving at about the same speed. But decision making at the NHL level just has to be that much quickler. Some junior phenoms don't make the transition well, or at all. Some take more time. This is why I'm always leery of prospects who scored a lot but were reported as not great skaters. Sven's skating was always reported as "solid to above average". So that's not his issue, but maybe the change in gears for decision making has been.

[CliffFletcher]

Most prospects bust. That's just reality. If Baertschi doesn't make the transition to the NHL it won't be some kind of bizarre, head-scratching anomaly. Maybe he's just not good enough.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He may improve to make plays consistently at NHL speed or he may not (I think this is the main issue at persent). But looking at whether he was "dominant" in 2011 in junior hockey isn't really relevant at this point IMO. That league (and the AHL) are slower in overall pace. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way because the players are all skating hard and moving at about the same speed. But decision making at the NHL level just has to be that much quickler. Some junior phenoms don't make the transition well, or at all. Some take more time. This is why I'm always leery of prospects who scored a lot but were reported as not great skaters. Sven's skating was always reported as "solid to above average". So that's not his issue, but maybe the change in gears for decision making has been.

Agreed, prospects have to change their game because you can't score goals the same way anymore. Look at Gaudreau's latest goal, how did he get it, some really quick heads up passes and getting a shot off a millisecond before the defender got his stick in the way.

[Iggy Snipe]

Sven will stay on the 4th line until he out plays someone on the 2nd or 3rd line on a consistent basis. Until then, he's not going to move, unless of course it's back down to the AHL. Honestly I think he has created a little offence and excitement from time to time, but he needs to be more of a factor, which is not an easy task playing on the 4th line. He needs to make the most of it, and I would say he almost has, if he could score one or two. The team is playing so well right now, it would be tough to mix up the lines.