Sven Baertschi didn't find the solution to his scoring slump by firing pucks during practice, but by driving balls on the golf course.
Following the Abbotsford Heat's 4-1 road loss to the Houston Aeros last Thursday, the team stuck around in Houston an extra two days before busing to San Antonio on Sunday to close out a seven-game road trip against the Rampage.
During the Houston sojourn, Baertschi got out for a couple rounds of golf with his teammates – a rare opportunity for rest and relaxation in the midst of a trying season.
And, as it turned out, the golf didn't hurt his hockey game, either.
Baertschi hadn't scored in a game since way back on Nov. 16 vs. the Rochester Americans. In the interim, he'd waded through a couple of injuries and a goalless 10-game stint with the Calgary Flames.
But just past the eight-minute mark of the first period on Sunday in San Antonio, Krys Kolanos fired a centering pass from the corner that got deflected and bounced off Ben Walter's hip. The puck fluttered through the air into the slot, and we'll let Baertschi take the story from here.
"It lands right in front of me, but it's too far away," he recounted, eyes widening. "So I use a golf swing like this" – Baertschi mimed a nine-iron stroke, his hands close together – "and it goes in the net.
"Who would have thought that's how it would happen? Usually it's some greasy goal you stuff in (to break a slump)."
Baertschi, the brightest prospect in the Flames' organization, got off to a terrific start with the Heat last fall, posting 18 points in 21 games.
When the NHL lockout lifted in mid-January, expectations in Calgary were sky-high for the Swiss rookie, but he couldn't buy a goal. Nor was he being deployed with great frequency by head coach Bob Hartley – he averaged 11:01 of ice time per game and was a healthy scratch on one occasion.
In the end, it made all kinds of sense to send the 20-year-old back to Abbotsford for more seasoning, but that doesn't mean the move didn't sting.
"I really felt uncomfortable to a point," Baertschi said, reflecting on his time with the Flames. "Stuff happened that, let's say, was tough to understand for me – coach's decisions and stuff.
"I had a tough time. Certain games I was playing well, but then I didn't get a big chance because maybe he (Hartley) didn't trust me enough yet. It's tough to say as a coach – he has a lot of pressure, because he has to make the playoffs this year.
"I was trying my best up there, and in the end, I guess I wasn't good enough."
It's nigh unto impossible, though, for a happy-go-lucky gent like Baertschi to be down for long. He noted that Anaheim Ducks superstars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who recently signed contract extensions totaling $135 million, were both demoted to the AHL during their rookie seasons. And he knows there are people in this world who have it a lot worse than him.
"I see things on TV where people are poor or they have cancer – then I'm like, why am I so angry? Why am I so frustrated?" he said.
Baertschi is also drawing energy from being around his Heat teammates again.
"I love these guys here – they're awesome dudes," he said with a grin. "While I was up there (in Calgary), I really missed them."
"It's been a weird season so far," he added. "But that's the way it goes. I'm here, and I love these guys and the coaching staff and everything. I have fun down here."
JONES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Like Baertschi, Blair Jones knows a thing or two about dealing with the disappointment of being demoted, and about busting a slump.
Jones, reassigned to Abbotsford by the Flames after clearing waivers on Feb. 21, failed to register a point in his first six games with the Heat. His puck luck seems to have turned, though – he has three goals in his last five games, including a clutch game-tying marker with 9.2 seconds left in regulation on Sunday vs. San Antonio that paved the way for a 5-4 shootout win.
Jones's slow offensive start mirrored the Heat's team-wide struggles to put the puck in the net. They've won just three of their last 16 games, despite out-shooting the opposition more often than not.
"It was almost bizarre to a point, how much we'd outplay and out-chance teams," Jones said with a wry grin. "It seemed like we couldn't buy a goal, and they'd come down and bounce one in one way or another.
"It's deflating, but that's part of the game – you've got to stick with it. For the most part, we've been playing really well."
Jones has a track record of production at the AHL level, having cracked the 20-goal mark twice with the Norfolk Admirals. Heat head coach Troy Ward has been pleased with what the veteran forward has brought to the team.
"He's just an honest player – he's honest in the NHL, and he's honest down here," Ward said. "He's played good minutes, he's played hard, he's had a great attitude, and he's been a good teammate. He's been everything we'd hoped."
TASTE OF PRO HOCKEY A THRILL FOR KULAK
Brett Kulak's youthful exuberance would put a smile on the face of even the most jaded hockey observer.
The 19-year-old defenceman, a fourth-round pick by the Flames in last year's NHL entry draft, was signed to an amateur tryout contract by the Heat on Wednesday after his season with the WHL's Vancouver Giants ended.
Following Thursday's practice, the Edmonton native was practically giddy with excitement.
"I couldn't get the smile off my face when I got asked to come up here," enthused Kulak, a mobile blueliner who posted 44 points in 72 games with the Giants this season.
"When I showed up here at the facility, you can tell right away it's pro hockey – how they have everything set up here, it's a lot different than junior. And then I go out on the ice, and I'm playing out there with all those men, and they're really big, strong guys, good hockey players. This is really good for me."
Whether Kulak actually gets into a game or not remains to be seen, but just being around the team is a valuable learning experience for the youngster.
"I'm just watching how the pros take care of themselves," he said. "They're on the bike before practice, after practice, rolling out, stretching. It's just how they act like pros that's really good for me to see and learn from."
BREEN BANGED UP
The Heat will be without the services of key defenceman Chris Breen (pictured right) for a pivotal weekend set vs. the Rockford IceHogs (Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. both nights, Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre).
Ward said Breen suffered an upper-body injury vs. San Antonio, and he'll miss at least the next two games.
SUSPENSIONS GALORE
Both the Heat and IceHogs will be missing players this weekend due to supplemental discipline.
Abbotsford forward Mike Testwuide has two games left on his three-game suspension for a charging incident vs. Texas last week. On the other side, Rockford forwards Jeremy Morin and Wade Brookbank and defenceman Shawn Lalonde are serving one-game bans following a penalty-filled game vs. the Chicago Wolves on Sunday. Morin (25 goals and 20 assists in 56 games) is the IceHogs' third-leading scorer.