[News] Baertschi scores his 1st 5-point game

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Poe969

I think if he comes up, these next 3 games might be his last chance with the Flames. I don't think he should be traded but I'm not against him being traded if it helps us out a lot. These games have to either be viewed as a last chance with the Flames or him being showcased for a trade.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by devo22

Yeah, this about sums up my thoughts, exactly.

edit - well, it did before it disappeared.

[Scoutski]

Originally Posted by nik-

nik- do you still stand by your sig comment re: Hartley?

[ricardodw]

For a week in the NHL Baertschi will get paid the same as 2.5 months with the Heat.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Scoutski

nik- do you still stand by your sig comment re: Hartley?

I think he's being overrated by a lot of people on this board (ie: even suggesting he should be nominated as coach of the year is just silly) but I've come around to him a lot more because of the work ethic he's instilling. I'm just leaving my sig in place to wallow in a bit of shame.

I still think the way he managed Baertschi, particularly the first benching, was a load of garbage. Especially when Colborne was a hot mess at the start of the year and kept having his ice time increased.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by poe969

i think if he comes up, these next 3 games might be his last chance with the flames. I don't think he should be traded but i'm not against him being traded if it helps us out a lot. These games have to either be viewed as a last chance with the flames or him being showcased for a trade.

boooooooooooo!

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by nik-

I think he's being overrated by a lot of people on this board (ie: even suggesting he should be nominated as coach of the year is just silly) but I've come around to him a lot more because of the work ethic he's instilling. I'm just leaving my sig in place to wallow in a bit of shame.

I still think the way he managed Baertschi, particularly the first benching, was a load of garbage. Especially when Colborne was a hot mess at the start of the year and kept having his ice time increased.

Well, what was Hartley to do there? Colborne was waiver-eligible. Flames traded for him fully knowing this (and why he was cheap). This was just simple asset management. Also, without a doubt Colborne took huge strides in his development. He is proving himself to be a very coach-able player.

Baertschi just wasn't ready. It was very apparent that Feaster was forcing Hartley to keep Baertschi in the lineup. Burke took over and stated that "Hartley now has full control on the roster" - Baertschi went down immediately. Baertschi struggled in Abbotsford for the first while. Baertschi simply came to camp either mentally or physically unprepared, and it showed.

Baertschi is rounding back into form finally, to the player we all thought he would be. Some prospects take longer. He simply was not ready this year - for whatever reason it may be. Given Hartley's support of all the rest of the young players and rookies, it makes it a very unlikely case to point the finger and say "Baertschi was unfairly treated or mismanaged". Hartley did a wonderful job with the rest of the rookies throughout the year. It becomes more difficult to blame Hartley in hindsight, no?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Well, what was Hartley to do there? Colborne was waiver-eligible. Flames traded for him fully knowing this (and why he was cheap). This was just simple asset management. Also, without a doubt Colborne took huge strides in his development. He is proving himself to be a very coach-able player.

Baertschi just wasn't ready. It was very apparent that Feaster was forcing Hartley to keep Baertschi in the lineup. Burke took over and stated that "Hartley now has full control on the roster" - Baertschi went down immediately. Baertschi struggled in Abbotsford for the first while. Baertschi simply came to camp either mentally or physically unprepared, and it showed.

Baertschi is rounding back into form finally, to the player we all thought he would be. Some prospects take longer. He simply was not ready this year - for whatever reason it may be. Given Hartley's support of all the rest of the young players and rookies, it makes it a very unlikely case to point the finger and say "Baertschi was unfairly treated or mismanaged". Hartley did a wonderful job with the rest of the rookies throughout the year. It becomes more difficult to blame Hartley in hindsight, no?

Reduce his minutes or let him watch a few games from the press box. And Baertschi was playing fine up to his first benching.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by nik-

Reduce his minutes or let him watch a few games from the press box. And Baertschi was playing fine up to his first benching.

Colborne centered the 4th line a lot earlier in the season. It wasn't until he switched to the wing that he started getting consistent ice time.

[Scoutski]

Yep, he's not being called up:

Michael Cooper ‏@MIJCooper 30m
@ColinDJD You wrote in that hockeybuzz article that Baertschi is being recalled? Where did you get that from? Doesn't seem to be the case...

Colin Dambrauskas ‏@ColinDJD 1m
@MIJCooper thanks Michael, my source was off and I generally double check with stuff like this. My apologies.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by codynw

Colborne centered the 4th line a lot earlier in the season. It wasn't until he switched to the wing that he started getting consistent ice time.

At the start of the year Colborne was getting a lot of minutes he wasn't earning. He was moved to the bottom line significantly later.

[TjRhythmic]

Originally Posted by nik-

At the start of the year Colborne was getting a lot of minutes he wasn't earning. He was moved to the bottom line significantly later.

Are you suggesting that Hartley should've moved Sven to center then to take Colborne's minutes?

[PeteMoss]

Considering Colborne's improvement this year... whatever they were doing seemed to have worked.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by TjRhythmic

Are you suggesting that Hartley should've moved Sven to center then to take Colborne's minutes?

I'm suggesting there was an imbalance in how our young players who were struggling were being treated. I think there was also a significant difference in how the vets who were mailing it in, like Galiardi, Glencross and Jones were being treated in comparison to our young players. Which I get, and makes sense that you teach them good habits. However, you better not be shouting down "accountability for all" from the mountain when we can clearly see people floating and not being held to task.

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Considering Colborne's improvement this year... whatever they were doing seemed to have worked.

They eventually dropped him down to a line appropriate to his level of play and then moved him to the wing.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by nik-

Reduce his minutes or let him watch a few games from the press box. And Baertschi was playing fine up to his first benching.

Colborne's minutes were substantially reduced, were they not? He was also flip-flopping with Backlund for the 2nd-line center position, with the loser being put on the 4th line.

Disagree on Baertschi looking fine up to his first benching. For the first few games he looked like he was fitting in (though looked very weak in every puck battle). Suddenly once the rest of the team caught their 'legs' and timing, it seemed like everyone took a step forward, but Baertschi remained in the same exact spot. He wasn't NHL ready, even though Feaster did his best to hype that up.

Even if you don't agree with my opinion above, hindsight has proven his current path to be the most beneficial for him. So the benching rattled him, you are saying? Sounds like to me he wasn't mentally ready to be an NHL player. There is nothing wrong with forcing prospects through the AHL and having them develop both physically and mentally. There is a whole lot of wrong when you force prospects into the NHL without earning it (and in my opinion, Baertschi was not earning his time), or without being ready.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by Poe969

I think if he comes up, these next 3 games might be his last chance with the Flames. I don't think he should be traded but I'm not against him being traded if it helps us out a lot. These games have to either be viewed as a last chance with the Flames or him being showcased for a trade.

He worked on his game in the minors and is coming along nicely. I think it is quite premature to be calling it a last chance or speculating on trading him.

Why not keep him and be patient with his development, like Backlund.

[SeanCharles]

As much as I love Sven, from the start of the season I was having trouble being excited about him.

Monahan and Brodie were extremely exciting but Backlund and Baertschi were struggling. You could just see it in the way they played.

Sven is younger and sending him to the AHL was in everyones best interests since him going down allowed him to get big minutes and build his confidence while working on the little things that will help him succeed in the NHL.

Even though Sven got sent down I believe Hartley's approach to all the young players is helping them develop.

Backlund has since taken the riens of a young leadership group and is thriving. Brodie, Monahan, Colborne and Bouma are looking like key future pieces and Sven has gone down and is starting to dominate.

This franchise is looking great especially after a, hopefully, top 5 pick this year.

A big reason for this is Harltey has managed the youngsters well. We didnt always like it but it was done with proper development in mind...

Sven will be a big part of this team next season and going down is a big reason for that!

[lanny9]

I think with Colbourne they knew he could maybe fit a few different rolls and it was a just a matter of throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks. They weren't sure what they had in him and he was up and down the lineup trying to figure out what worked best for him. Took some time to figure it all out but I think they did a remarkable job of saving a kids career when two other teams had passed him on already.

With Baertschi, he needs to be a top six forward or nothing, he doesn't have the size or game to play line 3 or 4. Team realized this and since he wasn't getting the 200ft game he needed to be sent down to learn it. Baertschi was neither prepared to play the season nor prepared at that time to play a 200ft game. He has it figured out now by the sounds of it, sure we could have kept him up and turned him into a spoiled brat like the Coilers do but is that what we really want with him? Unlike Edmonton I want a team where you need to earn your keep and he definitely wasn't at the time.

[kermitology]

Depends how much work he puts into his off season and his level of preparation before camp, as well as his attitude entering rookie/development camps and such. If he's matured, then he has a better shot of making the NHL again. It's mostly up to him.

[Enoch Root]

Nik:

I agree with you that Hartley didn't handle Baertschi well.

However, he has handled pretty much everyone else well. And he has implemented a solid structure and an incredible work ethic (others deserve credit as well, but Hartley certainly deserves some).

No coach is ever going to handle every young player perfectly. Everyone is different and it isn't an exact science. I have no problem saying that his efforts with Baertschi missed the mark. However, I also have no problem saying that he has done a fantastic job this season overall - including his management of all the other young players.