Sven "Only Needs Love" Baertschi

[crazyforhockey]

I was eready to waive him.... he had a good solid game..
beside actually showing some offensive play...he actually battled very well...esp without the puck.....

Im sure Willie said if you dont play with more intensity then your down to Utica

Id stil;l take McCann over him if it came to those two players...and I worry Sven will go to a floating style quickly

 

[fancouver]

Id stil;l take McCann over him if it came to those two players...and I worry Sven will go to a floating style quickly

Haven't seen Horvat with this much chemistry with him and Virtanen.

Baertschi hasn't clicked with Sutter or Vrbata.

 

[Hit the post]

...nevermind....

 

[F A N]

What Sven really is is an NHL rookie. He's going to have his ups and downs and battles of consistency. But he does have speed and skill which the Canucks badly need.

 

[MS]

He wasn't as good last night as his scoreline indicates - all 4 points were 2nd assists - but was much better. Not surprising that he looked more at home when not chained to Sutter or Vey.

 

[Balls Mahoney]

Sven Baertschi got five points in six pre-season games? ...Really?

 

[tyhee]

Sven Baertschi got five points in six pre-season games? ...Really?

5 points in TWO preseason games (after all, the first 4 don't count, just early preseason with too many juniors and minor leaguers to tell much.) He should end the regular season just shy of Gretzky's record pace, all while people watching the Canucks wonder if he is still playing in the NHL.

Ok, that's more harsh than I really want to be. I'm optimistic about how Baertschi will turn out, but his preseason wasn't impressive.

 

[me2]

5 points in TWO preseason games (after all, the first 4 don't count, just early preseason with too many juniors and minor leaguers to tell much.) He should end the regular season just shy of Gretzky's record pace, all while people watching the Canucks wonder if he is still playing in the NHL.

Ok, that's more harsh than I really want to be. I'm optimistic about how Baertschi will turn out, but his preseason wasn't impressive.

We know he is good on the rush as BHV owned the oilers who gave Sven space. Horvat and Virtanen do that, if Jake improves his cycling to keep up with Horvat then he is going to get fed a lot of nice passes back from a loose Sven.

Without space and time he is pretty meh.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

We're not competing. Who cares about salary

This statement is incredibly silly. A team's ability to acquire assets is restricted by the cap. No matter what position of a team, it's better to be frugal.

If we had a better GM, we could have had another 3-3.5 mil guy on the team, tradable for another pick at the deadline.

And not to mention, it's been mandated we're always going to try to compete on some level. This is important to the owners and is a mandate. If the kids really step up, the D comes together (which is looking like it is!), and Markstrom play lights out, I would rather have a couple million at the deadline to pick up a player.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

5 points in TWO preseason games (after all, the first 4 don't count, just early preseason with too many juniors and minor leaguers to tell much.) He should end the regular season just shy of Gretzky's record pace, all while people watching the Canucks wonder if he is still playing in the NHL.

Ok, that's more harsh than I really want to be. I'm optimistic about how Baertschi will turn out, but his preseason wasn't impressive.

It wasn't disappointing though. Once he played with Horvat, he looked very good. You can't expect a player to light it up with every scrub he plays with.

And considering it's expected he'll continue to play with Horvat, I say he's had more of a successful preseason than not.

 

[vanuck]

This statement is incredibly silly. A team's ability to acquire assets is restricted by the cap. No matter what position of a team, it's better to be frugal.

If we had a better GM, we could have had another 3-3.5 mil guy on the team, tradable for another pick at the deadline.

And not to mention, it's been mandated we're always going to try to compete on some level. This is important to the owners and is a mandate. If the kids really step up, the D comes together (which is looking like it is!), and Markstrom play lights out, I would rather have a couple million at the deadline to pick up a player.

I think arsmaster was being sarcastic. "Who cares about cap space" was a pretty common refrain heard throughout the summer in defense of the nonsensical wastes of money by Benning. It was ridiculous then and still very much so now.

 

[chis]

Yesterday's game was probably his best one but still mere mediocrity.
He needs to move up gear.

 

[Scurr]

Yesterday's game was probably his best one but still mere mediocrity.
He needs to move up gear.

He seemed to gain some confidence in competing for the puck in the defensive zone last night, hopefully he can carry that over into the offensive zone soon.

 

[Reign Nateo]

Competed better in the defensive zone. Still afraid of tough areas. If that doesn't change he won't be anything special at this level.

 

[Pip]

He's been putting in a fantastic position and he needs to produce. Simple as that.

 

[tantalum]

Competed better in the defensive zone. Still afraid of tough areas. If that doesn't change he won't be anything special at this level.

If that doesn't change he won't be at this level period. I'm not convinced he has a season to get going. If he's still struggling after 15-20 games he's going to find himself out of the lineup if there are kids on the farm playing well.

 

[VanJack]

Would the Flames have dumped a former 11th overall first-rounder for a late second-rounder, not to mention traded him to a division rival, if they really thought there was any chance he'd work out?

 

[Tobi Wan Kenobi]

He was bad last night. Real bad.

 

[Scurr]

Baertschi isn't playing the game that he did through the AHL playoffs last season. He's standing still so much with the puck that he's a sitting duck. I don't think it's a lack of courage… kid needs some confidence.

 

[torero]

I definitely wonder what happened to him.

From the brilliant scorer and passer he was with the winterhawks, then he started at a 0,5 pt per game in 20 games with Calgary, then a 0,4 pt per game in 26 games, to end up at a 0,3 pt per game in 15 games.

Can't understand what is going on. He has flashes of brilliance and the disapears.

He'll end up in AHL and in Switzerland if he can't fix it.

 

[vanuck]

Poor game. Practically invisible and struggled to be a factor, even when not scoring. So far the 'shies away from contact' label is looking pretty accurate.

 

[tantalum]

Baertschi isn't playing the game that he did through the AHL playoffs last season. He's standing still so much with the puck that he's a sitting duck. I don't think it's a lack of courage… kid needs some confidence.

Or is it that the AHL game is that step slower and it allows his talent to come through more despite the deficiencies in his game?

It shouldn't be a lack of confidence for him. He had a strong finish last year. He has been gifted a prime spot in the lineup. I don't see where the lack of confidence would come from besides worrying that it his last shot at the NHL. Which might very well be the reason but in the end he needs to show a lot more than he has. To quote a great intellectual from this great game of hockey: "It is what it is".

 

[Alan Jackson]

Not ready to give up on him yet, but the Canucks certainly need more out of Baertschi than what he's offering so far.

As of right now, he might be the most likely candidate to come out of the line-up once Higgins is healthy.

That said, it's still early days and a lot of players are still finding their feet. Maybe if he pots a couple, that will get him going.

 

[Karl Hungus]

I really want Baertschi to be that guy for the Canucks that he was for Utica last season but it's looking less and less likely. I'd give him an extended look before sending him back to the AHL but he's got to do more than just feast on the Oilers.

Right now he looks like he hasn't figured out how to play with little time and space. I worry he's missed the boat when it comes to bulking up. Guys like Hudler aren't particularly fast or hulking but still manages to be effective in and around traffic. Baertschi needs to stop doing everything from the half wall.

 

[LeftCoast]

I'd give him a bit more time. The skill is there, he really just needs to play a little harder on the puck (which has probably been the knock on his since his rookie season). But if he can't contribute after say 10 games, I'd send him through waivers (he would likely clear at this point) and see Travis Green can turn him into an NHLer. Virtanen, McCann, Gaunce and Shinkaruk all have him in their sights at this point.