Across Calgary in March of 2012, Baertschi skyrocketed into public consciousness as the "Swiss Can't-Miss."
Two days after making his NHL debut for the Calgary Flames against the Winnipeg Jets, the highly touted left wing - with his family at home in Bern, Switzerland, watching on television - scored on the rebound of his own deflection 1:43 into the third period in a 4-3 victory against the Minnesota Wild on March 11.
Across Calgary in March of 2012, Baertschi skyrocketed into public consciousness as the "Swiss Can't-Miss."
Two days after making his NHL debut for the Calgary Flames against the Winnipeg Jets, the highly touted left wing - with his family at home in Bern, Switzerland, watching on television - scored on the rebound of his own deflection 1:43 into the third period in a 4-3 victory against the Minnesota Wild on March 11.
Two nights later in Calgary, he scored a second goal in a 3-2 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks. Two days after that, he got a third goal, 17 seconds after the opening faceoff in a 4-1 victory against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Three goals in five games. Suddenly, Baertschi was all the rage in southern Alberta.
With the Flames out of playoff contention, the new sensation was returned to juniors and promptly propelled Portland all the way to the Western Hockey League final, where it lost a seven-game series to Edmonton.
In 22 WHL playoff games, Baertschi scored 14 goals and 34 points. The Flames appeared to have a popular young player to build the team around.
Baertschi had finished an 85-point inaugural junior year with Portland when Calgary selected him with the No. 13 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. He only heightened his profile the following season when he scored 94 points in 47 games to finish 10th in the WHL.
The five-game NHL call-up, followed by the productive playoff performance with Portland, only raised the anticipation of the fans. So when Baertschi arrived for Calgary's 2012 training camp, expectations were high. But then came three seasons mainly with Abbotsford and Adirondack of the American Hockey League, followed by occasional call-ups to Calgary.
Baertschi needed a change, and the Flames traded him to the Vancouver Canucks on March 2, 2015.
The 2015-16 season could be considered Baertschi's first as an everyday NHL player, and he showed flashes of his old self. In 69 games for the Canucks, he scored 15 goals and 28 points.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- WHL West Second All-Star Team (2012)
- Traded to Vancouver by Calgary for Vancouver's 2nd round pick (Rasmus Andersson) in 2015 NHL Draft, March 2, 2015.
