Bartschi Signs

Doing what was expected earlier in the week, the Calgary Flames have indeed signed 13th overall pick Sven Bartschi to a standard entry level contract.  It’s a three year deal that’ll pay him $925,000 per season, however with this being the final year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, all bonuses count on entry level deals, meaning Bartschi’s cap hit will end up being $1.45 million if he ends up playing with the big club.

Jay Feaster told a few of us last week the Flames had tendered a contract to Bartschi almost immediately after drafting him, at a dinner among their new picks on Saturday night.  You can imagine Calgary would have a little urgency with the whole thing due to the Tim Erixon fiasco the team had endure last month.  I can tell you from talking to people in the organization prior to the draft in Minnesota, playing in Calgary was something they took into consideration when doing their interviews with draft eligible players.

When the Flames drafted Bartschi at 13 it came as no surprise, as he had interviewed very well with the team at the scouting combine and in talks in St. Paul prior to the first round.  He was the player I hoped the team would pick as well, had he still been around, because he brings high end, finishing skill that just isn’t present in the Flames system right now.

Bartschi is an affable guy who enjoys the media and enjoys playing the game, and the latter is something that struck me right away.  He likes working, he likes improving his game, and he’s ready to do whatever is asked of him; whether he plays in Portland next year, which I believe is likely, or in the NHL, I get the impression Bartschi will be ready to impress and eager to get to the next level.

He put up 85 points in 66 regular season games with the Portland Winterhawks last season, adding 27 more in 21 playoff games.