BAERTSCHI’S DISPIRITING JOURNEY

LOS ANGELES — In his first game back in the American Hockey League, Sven Baertschi dangled through two white jerseys at the blueline and muscled his way around the last defender standing. With one hand on the stick, he failed to turn on the red light behind goalie David Leggio.

In the shootout, Baertschi fired the puck wide as his Abbotsford Heat fell 3-2 in Rochester, N.Y.

“The usual thing,” the Calgary Flames top prospect sighed over the phone at the end of an emotionally draining weekend. “I got a lot of chances, but I just can’t score. It’s not going my way right now.

“I’m trying. I just can’t do much about it. I’ve just got to keep going.”

At 20, Baertschi suffered a devastating blow this weekend upon learning of his demotion to the minors. General manager Jay Feaster broke the news on Saturday morning in the depths of the Staples Center.

Clearly rocked, Baertschi bid his teammates farewell and slumped out the door into the California sunshine.

“I’ve never been that disappointed so far in my whole hockey career,” said the first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. “It just didn’t go the way I would have liked.”

Baertschi arrived in Calgary two months ago with expectations as high as The Bow skyscraper — thanks in no small part to his sensational showing as an emergency recall from the Portland Winterhawks.

In five NHL games last season, the charismatic kid collected three goals. Svenmania was born as sporting goods stores from Copperfield to Crowfoot saw a run on No. 47 Flames jerseys.

I’ve never been that disappointed so far in my whole hockey career SVEN BAERTSCHI

Team brass tried to temper those expectations in January, but Baertschi still entered the season as a potential top-six forward.

In 10 games with Calgary this year, he registered just one assist and no goals — although the kid hit cranked the post in Game 1 against the San Jose Sharks.

“If that puck goes in, we’re probably not talking about Sven today,” said head coach Bob Hartley. “Maybe we are, maybe we’re not. We’ll never know. But sometimes, there’s some defining moments.”

Hartley realizes Baertschi carries around the perhaps unfair billing of potential saviour for an aging hockey club. But intense scrutiny is part of the job, at least in the eyes of the coach.

“Pressure is part of our game,” Hartley said. “That comes with the territory. I’m sure Sven has many friends who would pay big dollars to be a first-round pick in the NHL. There’s not too many Swiss kids who have been firstround picks.”

The next step of the amended game plan calls for Baertschi to score goals in Abbotsford — and to have fun again — before eventual recall to Calgary.

When that happens is anyone’s guess.

“For me, what I have to work on right now — or what I’m trying to work on right now — is my confidence,” he said. “I know how to play hockey. I understand the game. There’s nothing else.

“I think sometimes it’s more important to work on your head, mentally. You keep going, and you never give up, and there’s enough skill there.”

In other words, one of these days, the skill will take over and vanquish any and all inner torment.

“It’s not easy for a guy like Sven,” said Flames forward Michael Cammalleri, a product of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. “I remember going through it. You feel like you can help the team, and you feel like you can help the big club. You don’t understand the dynamics of the business yet, so sometimes it’s a difficult thing.

“Looking back now, you can kind of make more sense of it when you’ve been around for a while. But at the time, you feel a lot of pressure, and you feel like there’s a lot on your shoulders.”

Racking up the frequent flyer miles, Baertschi is off to Texas for three games.

“I’m going to enjoy the sun,” he said. “Maybe play a little bit of golf in the afternoon. Live life, relax and calm down.

“I understand there’s a lot of people out there who have it worse than I do. I still play the game I love. On a different level, but I still play.”