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Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW


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When the draft was coming up I was uncertain about whether I favored Virtanen or Nylander but I ended up being happy that Virtanen was chosen.

Nylander might make it as a first line centre in the NHL. But a lot of high skill guys who do not play strong defence and lack the size to play a physical game never even become regulars in the NHL. Think of Jordan Schroeder, Andrew Ebbet and many others. Cody Hodgson is a legitimate NHL player but has the same negatives and is never going to be a legitimate 1C. At best he might be a decent 2C provided he is on a team with a good shutdown 3C.

Virtanen, on the other hand, is almost certain to be at least a good NHL player. He is an excellent skater, has an excellent shot, has good size and strength, and plays an aggressive physical game. Like Horvat, at a minimum he will be good 3rd liner, is likely to be a solid 2nd liner, and has a chance of being a good first liner.

I agree that we for still looking for a successor to Henrik at 1C and no-one in the pipeline looks likely yet, but I would rather use lower picks on lottery tickets and use high picks for guys who will definitely contribute.

Nylander might be really good, but it is also possible that he ends up not being as good as McCann or Cassels. There is a good chance he is one of those guys who just cannot handle the toughness of the NHL (and no other league is a substitute on that dimension.)

Are you really going to compare a top10 pick, who's just as good as any Swedish player coming out of the SHL the last decade, with a guy who's 3 inches shorter and fell big time in the draft because of that. And also a player that wasn't even drafted. Sure Hodgson isn't doing good right now, but one could argue that the back injury ruined his development.

I agree that Virtanen will probably make the NHL. He'll turn into a bottom 6 player at least. Would i be happy if he only turned into a bottom 6 player, considering he was drafted 6th overall? Absolutely not. That's simply not good enough. I'm not saying that it will happen, but if it would, then i'd be very disappointed. I also think that "he could also be a bust because of his size and one-dimensional game" is a pretty lazy argument. As i said, he's nowhere near any of those guys that you mentioned in terms of size, and he's only 18, so you wouldn't expect him to be the best guy defensively when he's so gifted offensively. For an example, speed, physical play and a great shot sounds like all you need in a player. There are some important things in between though.

If you look at Nylander, you see a guy that can make his line-mates better. He's got great hands, good speed, and very good vision. He's also playing a pretty un-predictable game, like Patrick Kane. One weakness Virtanen has is that he doesn't use his line-mates great and doesn't have the best vision, which could be the difference between him being a top6 guy or a bottom 6 guy.

Nylander is by no means a 1st center lock. He is, however, playing as good as anyone could have possibly hoped for (probably even better). So it's looking pretty good for him from an early perspective. Virtanen hasn't really excelled his expectations, and his production might be lower than the realistic expectation ever was. It's awesome that he made Team Canada, and that he's making some noise there. Going to be exciting to watch him in the World Juniors.

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There were some concerns in the early 2nd period this game and most of the 2nd period last game. The lineup is deep, but I have a feeling that it can be deployed better.

Disagree.

Think the top six is put together well - although Ritchie's lack of top end speed might catch up to them in the elimination games.

Think the bottom six is put together best as possible with the players they brought. However, I do think they brought the wrong fit of players for the bottom six.

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Disagree.

Think the top six is put together well - although Ritchie's lack of top end speed might catch up to them in the elimination games.

Think the bottom six is put together best as possible with the players they brought. However, I do think they brought the wrong fit of players for the bottom six.

I liked ur idea of putting Paul down with Virtanen and Crouse. That's a big line that can shoot, skate and be physical.

Gauthier is honestly just deadweight out there, he has no offensive instincts and he even seems to lack defensive quickness; his reach is the only thing that gives him any defensive prowess. I'm actually so surprised/happy that the Leafs picked this guy in the 1st round... just makes it even sweeter.

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When the draft was coming up I was uncertain about whether I favored Virtanen or Nylander but I ended up being happy that Virtanen was chosen.

Nylander might make it as a first line centre in the NHL. But a lot of high skill guys who do not play strong defence and lack the size to play a physical game never even become regulars in the NHL. Think of Jordan Schroeder, Andrew Ebbet and many others. Cody Hodgson is a legitimate NHL player but has the same negatives and is never going to be a legitimate 1C. At best he might be a decent 2C provided he is on a team with a good shutdown 3C.

Virtanen, on the other hand, is almost certain to be at least a good NHL player. He is an excellent skater, has an excellent shot, has good size and strength, and plays an aggressive physical game. Like Horvat, at a minimum he will be good 3rd liner, is likely to be a solid 2nd liner, and has a chance of being a good first liner. the way hodgsons playing hes not even a nhl player let alone a 3c

I agree that we for still looking for a successor to Henrik at 1C and no-one in the pipeline looks likely yet, but I would rather use lower picks on lottery tickets and use high picks for guys who will definitely contribute.

Nylander might be really good, but it is also possible that he ends up not being as good as McCann or Cassels. There is a good chance he is one of those guys who just cannot handle the toughness of the NHL (and no other league is a substitute on that dimension.)

. the way hodgson is playing hes not even a nhl player let alone a 3rd line center Edited by canuktravella
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Are you really going to compare a top10 pick, who's just as good as any Swedish player coming out of the SHL the last decade, with a guy who's 3 inches shorter and fell big time in the draft because of that. And also a player that wasn't even drafted. Sure Hodgson isn't doing good right now, but one could argue that the back injury ruined his development.

I agree that Virtanen will probably make the NHL. He'll turn into a bottom 6 player at least. Would i be happy if he only turned into a bottom 6 player, considering he was drafted 6th overall? Absolutely not. That's simply not good enough. I'm not saying that it will happen, but if it would, then i'd be very disappointed. I also think that "he could also be a bust because of his size and one-dimensional game" is a pretty lazy argument. As i said, he's nowhere near any of those guys that you mentioned in terms of size, and he's only 18, so you wouldn't expect him to be the best guy defensively when he's so gifted offensively. For an example, speed, physical play and a great shot sounds like all you need in a player. There are some important things in between though.

If you look at Nylander, you see a guy that can make his line-mates better. He's got great hands, good speed, and very good vision. He's also playing a pretty un-predictable game, like Patrick Kane. One weakness Virtanen has is that he doesn't use his line-mates great and doesn't have the best vision, which could be the difference between him being a top6 guy or a bottom 6 guy.

Nylander is by no means a 1st center lock. He is, however, playing as good as anyone could have possibly hoped for (probably even better). So it's looking pretty good for him from an early perspective. Virtanen hasn't really excelled his expectations, and his production might be lower than the realistic expectation ever was. It's awesome that he made Team Canada, and that he's making some noise there. Going to be exciting to watch him in the World Juniors.

We get it your names Hedman you like the swedes now would you just stop, and go blow Nylander (smoke) somewhere else. Virtanen had a good game, scored a great goal and is playing a specific role in an international tournament that's very important to Canadians. Can we stop with the Nylander will be a top line center, and Virtanen will be a top 6 winger at best crap. YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!!!! we have 4 good center prospects in Horvat, Mcann, Gaunce and Cassels. I have no concerns about having a "center to replace Henrik" when we have that much depth at the position already. And why would you expect a center not to be good defensively when he's younger just because he's good offensively, So you wanna teach the kid its okay to back check like Kessel or Ovechkin. As long as you score a point a game? Edited by WonderTwinPowers
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SHL is terrible hockey, it's like my men's league Friday night beer games at 8 rinks, except we actually hit people in our league.

All jokes aside Nylander plays the type of game that is perfect for Euro hockey and Euro size ice, but he will have a difficult time adjusting to the NA rink and type of crash and bang hockey. He simply won't have the room or time that he has in SHL. How's he going to react to the physical play, we already know Jake excels at this.

Anton Rodin is destroying the SHL. That alone should speak volume. Rodin folds like a wet napkin w the NA style of hockey tho.

In my opinion if best case scenario happens for both Nylander and Jake I'd still prefer Jake.

Who do u prefer, Nicklas backstrom or Cory Perry ??

Edited by carlweezer
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Are you really going to compare a top10 pick, who's just as good as any Swedish player coming out of the SHL the last decade, with a guy who's 3 inches shorter and fell big time in the draft because of that. And also a player that wasn't even drafted. Sure Hodgson isn't doing good right now, but one could argue that the back injury ruined his development.

I agree that Virtanen will probably make the NHL. He'll turn into a bottom 6 player at least. Would i be happy if he only turned into a bottom 6 player, considering he was drafted 6th overall? Absolutely not. That's simply not good enough. I'm not saying that it will happen, but if it would, then i'd be very disappointed. I also think that "he could also be a bust because of his size and one-dimensional game" is a pretty lazy argument. As i said, he's nowhere near any of those guys that you mentioned in terms of size, and he's only 18, so you wouldn't expect him to be the best guy defensively when he's so gifted offensively. For an example, speed, physical play and a great shot sounds like all you need in a player. There are some important things in between though.

If you look at Nylander, you see a guy that can make his line-mates better. He's got great hands, good speed, and very good vision. He's also playing a pretty un-predictable game, like Patrick Kane. One weakness Virtanen has is that he doesn't use his line-mates great and doesn't have the best vision, which could be the difference between him being a top6 guy or a bottom 6 guy.

Nylander is by no means a 1st center lock. He is, however, playing as good as anyone could have possibly hoped for (probably even better). So it's looking pretty good for him from an early perspective. Virtanen hasn't really excelled his expectations, and his production might be lower than the realistic expectation ever was. It's awesome that he made Team Canada, and that he's making some noise there. Going to be exciting to watch him in the World Juniors.

No one cares about Nylander dude. Get outta here.

Edited by canuck2xtreme
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We get it your names Hedman you like the swedes now would you just stop, and go blow Nylander (smoke) somewhere else. Virtanen had a good game, scored a great goal and is playing a specific role in an international tournament that's very important to Canadians. Can we stop with the Nylander will be a top line center, and Virtanen will be a top 6 winger at best crap. YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!!!! we have 4 good center prospects in Horvat, Mcann, Gaunce and Cassels. I have no concerns about having a "center to replace Henrik" when we have that much depth at the position already. And why would you expect a center not to be good defensively when he's younger just because he's good offensively, So you wanna teach the kid its okay to back check like Kessel or Ovechkin. As long as you score a point a game?

Honestly its likely that they will both be good players in the NHL one day. I like Virtanens size,speed and meanness more then Nylanders speed and PP prowess. Im just glad we didnt pick Dal Cole or we would hear cdc bitching till the end of time.

Edited by messier's_elbow
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Icing on the cake is he is a home grown local boy !!! We've had a decade of naslund and the Sedins....I can't wait for the next era of Virtanen Horvat Cassels Mcann. Some skill and grit good ole Canadian boys !!!!!!

Yeah Ive been a nucks fan for ages, and we have never had this many quality prospects all together in the same age range.

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Virtanen scores a beauty in a world junior tune-up game and the naysayers are on here pumping up Nylander?

You know that if Nylander or Ehlers had scored a goal like that we would be hearing "look at that skill and speed" and "can Virtanen do that?"

Virtanen scored a beauty goal and also ran over a few players. He has a role to play on Team Canada and I wouldn't be surprised if he provides a much needed spark with physical play or a big goal.

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Holy crap, 85 pages deep on the Virtanen thread and that douche is still whining about Nylander.

Well, we did recently play Sweden and there will always be a comparison there. Blame the guy who started talking about Nylander's performance in that game.

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Disagree.

Think the top six is put together well - although Ritchie's lack of top end speed might catch up to them in the elimination games.

Think the bottom six is put together best as possible with the players they brought. However, I do think they brought the wrong fit of players for the bottom six.

I've seen multiple plays on the McD line break down simply because Ritchie is out-skated to the puck. Considering the whole reason McD was put with big wingers was to keep the puck in the opposing zone, this is a problem to consider. So far we've gotten away with it, but as the tournament progresses, we might want to change things up. But we will see.

Oh, and if people want to talk about Nylander, there is the WJC thread. That's the best place for it at the moment. He will collect points on the power play, a lot against weak competition.

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Are you really going to compare a top10 pick, who's just as good as any Swedish player coming out of the SHL the last decade, with a guy who's 3 inches shorter and fell big time in the draft because of that. And also a player that wasn't even drafted. Sure Hodgson isn't doing good right now, but one could argue that the back injury ruined his development.

I agree that Virtanen will probably make the NHL. He'll turn into a bottom 6 player at least. Would i be happy if he only turned into a bottom 6 player, considering he was drafted 6th overall? Absolutely not. That's simply not good enough. I'm not saying that it will happen, but if it would, then i'd be very disappointed. I also think that "he could also be a bust because of his size and one-dimensional game" is a pretty lazy argument. As i said, he's nowhere near any of those guys that you mentioned in terms of size, and he's only 18, so you wouldn't expect him to be the best guy defensively when he's so gifted offensively. For an example, speed, physical play and a great shot sounds like all you need in a player. There are some important things in between though.

If you look at Nylander, you see a guy that can make his line-mates better. He's got great hands, good speed, and very good vision. He's also playing a pretty un-predictable game, like Patrick Kane. One weakness Virtanen has is that he doesn't use his line-mates great and doesn't have the best vision, which could be the difference between him being a top6 guy or a bottom 6 guy.

Nylander is by no means a 1st center lock. He is, however, playing as good as anyone could have possibly hoped for (probably even better). So it's looking pretty good for him from an early perspective. Virtanen hasn't really excelled his expectations, and his production might be lower than the realistic expectation ever was. It's awesome that he made Team Canada, and that he's making some noise there. Going to be exciting to watch him in the World Juniors.

Based on NHL drafting history, we could be better off drafting the guy who went 26th overall, or a guy who was drafted in the second round. There is no certainty when it comes to drafting, because it will depend on how motivated either player is at a given time (Grabner).

And drafting is only half the picture; the other half being development. Bet no one in here could have predicted that Nail Yakupov would be in bust territory right now, but that is what a terrible development program will get you.

Basically, Nylander could end up being a better player, but that does not mean we should have drafted him, because he works really well with the Toronto development program. Or he could be a bust.

Let's wait a few years, and then we can look at a guy drafted in the second round and wonder how so many teams could have passed on him.

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