Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[BCNate]

Was awesome watching Debrusk encourage JV last night on after hours.  He is a likeable kid and seems like there are a lot of guys in the industry pulling for him.  

 

All this adversity he has gone through will pay off in the long run.

[Dazzle]

1 hour ago, BCNate said:

Was awesome watching Debrusk encourage JV last night on after hours.  He is a likeable kid and seems like there are a lot of guys in the industry pulling for him.  

 

All this adversity he has gone through will pay off in the long run.

Debrusk is indeed a classy guy. It's amazing though how his son is doing so well, yet Louie retains the same humble character before his son broke out.

[Ballisticsports.]

On 12/21/2019 at 2:39 PM, Silky mitts said:

It’s like people forgot how dominant bertuzzi was lol

Yes, even forgetting the goals and points, the man had a presence on the ice

[Captain Canuck #12]

9 hours ago, BCNate said:

Was awesome watching Debrusk encourage JV last night on after hours.  He is a likeable kid and seems like there are a lot of guys in the industry pulling for him.  

 

All this adversity he has gone through will pay off in the long run.

If he learns from it, yes it will. And that's exactly why Green has taken the tough-love approach with him that he has.  Same goes for the approach that Cull  has taken with both Lind and Gadjovich.  The organization will definitely benefit from this approach with their young players in the long run, not to mention the players themselves.

[Ballisticsports.]

On 12/21/2019 at 10:47 AM, -AJ- said:

Jake looks good, but let's not pretend he's even remotely close to what Bert was...yet. Bertuzzi was a one in a million player.

I agree Big Bert was a star in the league and voted most exciting player on the Canucks for years

Big Bert played with passion and heart, who was protective of his teammates  so much so, it got him into trouble (financially too) helping Jovo and Naslund

He wasn't hired to be the goon on his team, but he did not like to see people take advantage of his teammates and would stand up for his teammates,rather than ignore them being abused

While a rookie Gilles was brought in to mentor him and said of him ( If you're built like a freight train, you can't drive around like a Volkswagen.) 

 

Irony, in the comparison between the two, is that while Bert was establishing himself as an NHL player his linemate then, is now Jakes coach, 

 

Hopefully Jake takes the grin off and gets serious about being the ultimate player he can be and takes off and we end up with a hybrid of Bert - The Virtuzzi

 

[Gaudette Celly]

Dumb take of the weekend:

 

Quote

"Virtanen isn’t playing a ton, but he’s putting up points and you have to think, given the roster crunch looming this summer and the raise that Virtanen is lining himself up for, the Canucks could be again pondering finding him a new home via trade."
- Patrick Johnston

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-extra-the-miller-pettersson-thing

Hey yeah, after 5 years of patience and investing in developing a high first round pick to where he's just starting to pay off... let's trade him away.

[Wanless]

23 minutes ago, Gaudette Celly said:

Dumb take of the weekend:

 

Hey yeah, after 5 years of patience and investing in developing a high first round pick to where he's just starting to pay off... let's trade him away.

That was hard to read.

 

His writing skills are ameteur at best and his forecasting skills sound like a kneejerk reacting after a blown 5-2 lead in the 3rd period

[theo5789]

On 12/22/2019 at 4:12 AM, FaninMex said:

Jake scored from Ovie's spot just as I have been saying for forever.

Tanev also scored on a fantastic deke after a nice give and go rush. Should Tanev be our new top 6 forward that we have been looking for? 

[theo5789]

On 12/21/2019 at 8:04 PM, ForNuckSakes said:

id like to see them move jake to the LW. looking at his last couple goals thats where he is scoring from. I had thought he played LW quite a bit in junior.

He's better defensively on the RW and the majority of the game you play without the puck. On the PP, it makes sense he's on the LW. I think he should be a RW regularly, but if he can work with his linemates to get him on the LW during rushes up the ice, then that maximizes both offense and defense from Jake. He's had some nice goals coming down the RW as well, but his natural offensive instincts might be from the LW as that's how he was brought up mostly as a junior as you said.

[BCNate]

2 hours ago, ba;;isticsports said:

I agree Big Bert was a star in the league and voted most exciting player on the Canucks for years

Big Bert played with passion and heart, who was protective of his teammates  so much so, it got him into trouble (financially too) helping Jovo and Naslund

He wasn't hired to be the goon on his team, but he did not like to see people take advantage of his teammates and would stand up for his teammates,rather than ignore them being abused

While a rookie Gilles was brought in to mentor him and said of him ( If you're built like a freight train, you can't drive around like a Volkswagen.) 

 

Irony, in the comparison between the two, is that while Bert was establishing himself as an NHL player his linemate then, is now Jakes coach, 

 

Hopefully Jake takes the grin off and gets serious about being the ultimate player he can be and takes off and we end up with a hybrid of Bert - The Virtuzzi

 

I don't think that JV develops into Bertuzzi, he doesn't seem yo play with the same fire/anger.  Keep in mind that it took 6 season after his draft for Bert to get 50 points.  JV is tracking for close to that in his d+5.  Some times these power guys take time.  Virtanen seems to be finding the right rhythm right now.  

[Ballisticsports.]

3 hours ago, BCNate said:

I don't think that JV develops into Bertuzzi, he doesn't seem yo play with the same fire/anger.  Keep in mind that it took 6 season after his draft for Bert to get 50 points.  JV is tracking for close to that in his d+5.  Some times these power guys take time.  Virtanen seems to be finding the right rhythm right now.  

I don't think it is being a power forward that takes time, many have excelled at a young age

I think it is the individual mindset and maturity of the p[layer instead

 

Even regarding Bert before he became a pro, Mark Crawford then GM of Guelph passed on drafting Bert stating "Maturity issues" and being a "Big kid, who hadn't grown into his body yet"

[Western Red]

Probably a good time to try and find a few of his RC's. They're really cheap because he shares the rookie year with McDavid and people think nothing of him, in a manner of speaking.

 

Look for YGs under $7 and any auto under $8

 

When we hit the playoff and he becomes a beast, those numbers go up by a measure of 5x, 10x possibly.

[canucklehead44]

Virtanen has increased his goal totals by 50% each season
2015-2016: 7 goals 
2017-2018: 10 goals

2018-2019: 15 goals
2019-2020: 22 goal pace

Maybe he hits 33 next season? I would probably put that at his cap haha. 

[Phat Fingers]

19 hours ago, Gaudette Celly said:

Dumb take of the weekend:

 

Hey yeah, after 5 years of patience and investing in developing a high first round pick to where he's just starting to pay off... let's trade him away.

No kidding.  Wtf is wrong with the media folks.  Hey vancouver fans, your players are doing great, to bad you can't keep them because they are too good for you.  

[BCNate]

19 hours ago, ba;;isticsports said:

I don't think it is being a power forward that takes time, many have excelled at a young age

I think it is the individual mindset and maturity of the p[layer instead

 

Even regarding Bert before he became a pro, Mark Crawford then GM of Guelph passed on drafting Bert stating "Maturity issues" and being a "Big kid, who hadn't grown into his body yet"

Power forwards generally have a longer transition that most positions.  It is a tough transition to make from Junior.....big difference overpowering 17 year olds than overpowering grown men.  Some make the transition quickly, like those Tkatchuk kids, but some take more time.

 

End of the day though, you give a long leash and a ton of patience to a guy with tools like Virtanen.  Sure it has taken longer than wanted or expected, but Benning's patience looks to be starting to pay off.  

 

 

 

 

[FaninMex]

On 12/23/2019 at 7:26 PM, theo5789 said:

Tanev also scored on a fantastic deke after a nice give and go rush. Should Tanev be our new top 6 forward that we have been looking for? 

Are you looking for a job as coach? That is a brilliant idea

[Lancaster]

1 hour ago, BCNate said:

Power forwards generally have a longer transition that most positions.  It is a tough transition to make from Junior.....big difference overpowering 17 year olds than overpowering grown men.  Some make the transition quickly, like those Tkatchuk kids, but some take more time.

 

End of the day though, you give a long leash and a ton of patience to a guy with tools like Virtanen.  Sure it has taken longer than wanted or expected, but Benning's patience looks to be starting to pay off.  

 

 

 

 

That's actually a myth.  Most powerforwards makes the transition quick as they already have decent size relative to the average NHLer.

 

The whole "powerfowards takes longer to develop" theory on CDC is mostly based on Bertuzzi, who himself was more of an exception than the norm.  Most PWF become impact players by age 23-24.  Those who fail to be impact players by that stage rarely develop further, usually ending up as "role players".

[canuckledraggin]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hours-jake-virtanen-nickname-toughest-moment-career/

[dpn1]

3 hours ago, Lancaster said:

That's actually a myth.  Most powerforwards makes the transition quick as they already have decent size relative to the average NHLer.

 

The whole "powerfowards takes longer to develop" theory on CDC is mostly based on Bertuzzi, who himself was more of an exception than the norm.  Most PWF become impact players by age 23-24.  Those who fail to be impact players by that stage rarely develop further, usually ending up as "role players".

Sometimes I think people think Jake is bigger than he actually is.  Jake is 6' 1" and weighs about 210 lb. or 215 lb.  I have seen him in street cloths and 6' 1" is being Generous.  I would have pegged him at maybe 6'.  Also, his profile says he weighs 229 lb.  No way he weighs that now.  Comparing Jake to Todd isn't the best examples of similar players as Todd was 6' 4" and 235 or 240 lb.  I have never really liked comparing Jake to Todd.  Merry Christmas everyone. 

[Relic]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:30 AM, Gaudette Celly said:

Dumb take of the weekend:

 

Hey yeah, after 5 years of patience and investing in developing a high first round pick to where he's just starting to pay off... let's trade him away.

I read that bit of the article and thought the same thing.  The Vancouver media has been pushing the idea of Trading Virtanen quite a bit over the past year or so without making a compelling case.  It makes no sense to trade him now in my opinion.