Flames Best #47 Of All Time: Sven Baertschi

There wasn’t a lot of competition here as the player with the best NHL career to have worn the #47 was Jean-Sebastian Giguere, but his best work came with Anaheim and not with Calgary. He wasn’t given the chance to do much of anything with the Flames, so the honour of Best #47 falls to Sven Baertschi, a player that supposed to be an NHL impact player. That never happened in his time with the Flames.

Baertschi came to Calgary as highly touted and relatively high overall draft pick. Calgary selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and were expecting big things from the Swiss winger.

Sven Baertschi would spend two seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, posting back to back 85+ point seasons (85 & 94), with his 94 point total coming in only 47 games in 2011-12. He would make his NHL debut that year as well, playing in five games for the Flames before being sent to the AHL to play with the Abbotsford Heat.

During the 2012-13 season Baertschi would spend 32 games in the AHL (26 points) before getting his first, real significant minutes in the NHL. He would suit up for 20 games with Calgary, scoring three goals and handing out seven assists. The following season would see him play in only 26 games at the NHL level, scoring twice and handing out nine assists.

Baertschi’s numbers while playing in the AHL were respectable, but for a number of reasons he wasn’t getting the chance to crack the Flames lineup or show that he belonged. Early on in his first time up in Calgary, Baertschi endeared himself to the fanbase with his play, but by the start of the 2014-15 season everyone seemed to be wondering if he was ever going to be NHL material. After only 15 games and four assists, the Flames finally gave up Baertschi in 2014-15 and sent him to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2nd Round Draft pick, who turned into Rasmus Andersson.

In a short time with the Flames, Sven Baertschi would play parts of four seasons, dressing for 66 games, scoring eight goals and dishing out 20 assists. He is still a member of the Vancouver Canucks and will be a free agent after the upcoming NHL season.

Other Players Having Worn #47 In Flames History

Claude Lapointe (1996), Jean-Sebastian Giguere (1999-2000), Tim Ramholt (2008), Kyle Greentree (2009)

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by Mark Parkinson