uselessstats

Just a disallowed goal away. Hope his hand's ok though. Didn't like how he was holding it going off the ice or the fact that he didn't come back to the bench before the intermission.

Haha, me and my buddy used to play that game for hours when we were 8 or 9. But ya I totally agree on Jake. He's a work in progress and I'm confident Jake at 21 will look quite a bit more polished than Jake at 19. Just needs to figure out how to use his unique tools to best use in this league. I'm happy with his progress so far even though he is still far from polished. Just hope to see Willie give him some consistent ice time (10-12 minutes is ideal) and line mates (Burrows is a good fit and mentor) to bring his game along.

Agree. He's looked very good in 2 of the 3 games since he 'made' the team. Didn't look as good against Pittsburgh but then playing 6 minutes tends to do that. Probably should have scored on that breakaway (player got his stick on Jake's the instant before he shoots) and was involved in some other nice plays in the first and second. For a kid barely 19 and a dozen games into his NHL career he is showing a ton of promise so far. Ya he's not likely to win an Art Ross or anything but he projects to be a very fast, aggressive, goal scoring winger. How many is the question but I'm excited to see how he looks in 40 games and with consistent ice time and line mates.

Awwww that sucks. I was really hoping Jake would develop and improve but you've given an iron clad argument for why he'll never ever get any better than he was today in his 11th NHL game. Now I'm sad. Thanks a lot!

Not really. If you need to make things up to support your opinion then what you really have is an imagination or fiction. If you have some tangible support then it becomes a defensible opinion. While both get thrown around here like cheap confetti they don't both hold equal weight in a discussion.

You're thinking of an imagination.

Everyone is free to have an opinion but people are under no obligation to respect it if you can't back it up with reasonable support. Most of the Jake-bashing around here has lacked objective support and generally relies on sliding the goal posts around to suit their inconsistent narrative. Guy makes a defensive mistake? Clearly not ready to play in the NHL. Horrible draft pick. Why oh why didn't we draft Ehlers? Plays a quiet, steady game in his own zone? Where are the shots? Where are the shoooooooots? Takes a lot of shots? Anyone can shoot it. I demand goals. Score a goal? But that team isn't as good as the one McCann scored against tonight (Pittsburgh). Get told that McCann didn't actually score a goal against Pittsburgh? Hide your head and don't come into the thread for a few days until you think people have forgotten about it. Rinse and repeat.

He has but let's look at it thru Down Unda's eyes: - Took a horrible penalty that showed his lack of hockey IQ; - Didn't do much outside of some far out shots, some average passes, and some useless hits. Jared McCann (a real (prospect) on the other hand had some nice shots, nice passes, and a nice hit. - Any good play by Virtanen doesn't count because Buffalo is a bad team. Call me when he dangles Shea Weber and scores on Patrick Roy. Think that should cover it.

Are you sure you watch *Canuck* games? http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/game/pittsburgh-penguins-vancouver-canucks-20151104/Stats

Admittedly it is very early in the season, however some posters are claiming Jake has been 'underwhelming' or 'deficient' through his first 9 games, so lets take a look at the numbers available to us to see if that backs up those assertions: Here's a compilation of 5v5 data for 10 prominent rookies this year, plus 1 sophomore from Jake's draft (Pastrnak): A few things to look at: - Jake is tied for 7th out of 10 in 5v5 scoring. - Jake is by far the lowest total minutes played. - Looking at rate data, Jake is 6th in Points/60, just below Max Domi. He is 3rd in shots/60 behind only Ehlers and Eichel. - Looking at possession stats, Jake is 5th in individual Fenwick (shots taken + blocked) per 60 and 4th in individual Corsi (shots taken + blocked + missed net) per 60 behind Ehlers, McCann, Larkin (close), and Eichel (close). None of this factors in hits or physical play, which would be very lopsided in Jake's favour. So my take on the numbers so far: - Jake has had a slower start to his NHL career than most of the other prominent rookies in the NHL, playing around 50%-60% of the minutes that McDavid, Ehlers, Larkin, Domi, and Eichel have played so far. This is as much a function of being on a veteran team with a playoff-minded coach as anything. - Despite these limited minutes, his shot rate and possession stats are quite good, ranking in the top third or top half of this rookie cohort. Clearly when Jake is on the ice, he isn't killing his team's possession relative to other rookies. - His scoring is a bit slower to follow, with just 3 5v5 points on the season. However when we account for his low minutes played, he's just below the median and above guys like Reinhart, Pastrnak, Eichel, and Sam Bennett. So while I wouldn't argue Jake is a leading Calder contender based on either the eye test or the underlying stats, he appears to be holding his own with numbers comparable to other rookies and 2014 draft picks who are similarly learning the NHL game. And considering Jake just showed by far his best NHL game to-date the other night, it is possible that we will see an up-tick in Jake's performance and metrics soon. Either way, the numbers hardly support the notion that he has been 'underwhelming' or 'deficient' so far in the season. Certainly he looks like a rookie at times and has things to learn and improve on. But the good news is that pretty much every rookie who has ever stepped into the NHL has had to do the same. Jake is no exception to this, nor should we expect him to be.

Delusion? I have no delusions about Jake. I know he has limitations and warts - all players do - but I'm keeping an open mind about his ability to address these warts. He's 19 and has played less than 10 NHL games. Of course there are warts, but there are also signs of a top 6 forward that is just finding his NHL game. As to 'shouldering his deficiencies', no one is more aware and critical of his deficiencies than the coach of the NHL club. Yet he has been willing lately to give Jake an increase in minutes, particularly late in games, so maybe you should worry less about what we are willing to 'shoulder'. Besides, I think his 'deficiencies' are grossly overblown in most of your posts. He isn't bleeding goals or even possession, his defensive coverage has been competent, and his puck management has been average-to-good. I'm honestly not seeing the massive 'deficiencies' that you are, even if I expect he will improve in pretty much all of the above areas. As for the tendency of CDC to hype players, ya I agree and it isn't always the best for having a good discussion about players. However some of the posters go too far in the other direction and are essentially 'Negative Fanboys' who spin everything in a negative light and cannot acknowledge the positive signs that are apparent with Jake. Being negative isn't an antidote to the overly-optimistic posters around here, it just as bad and maybe even worse.

Man, is it a lot of work being consistently negative about a 19 year old kid who is going through the highs and lows of breaking into the NHL? Like I get that this place can get ahead of itself in terms of hyping players and their last game is always a projection of the next 15 years in their career, but posts like yours are just as skewed in the other direction. I mean what exactly is Jake doing or not doing that grinds your gears so bad? He's learning the NHL game and finding ways to help the team without costing them points or games. I think he's played fairly well and seems to be getting a bit more confident each game , culminating in a great game last night (and not just the goal either). Yet after all that you still seem stuck in the negative, like you just can't get past the fact that he isn't the player you wanted them to draft. It's too bad cause we're all enjoying seeing what this kid can do and become while you and a few others spend all your time grumbling about something that's in the past and can't be changed. Ah well, to each their own I guess...

Great game by Jake tonight. Scored what can be described as a "classic" Jake goal (based on his junior resume) and had several other grade A chances created by his speed and power driving the net. For all the angst about his "low IQ" or "uncreative" game, this is a solid example of how effective a simple "North South" game can be when you have Jake's wheels, strength, and aggression. Certainly he'll face better defences than Philasdelphia's tonight but it's a great start and certainly should give his confidence a big boost. Love it!

Great game by Jake tonight. Scored what can be described as a "classic" Jake goal (based on his junior resume) and had several other grade A chances created by his speed and power driving the net. For all the angst about his "low IQ" or "uncreative" game, this is a solid example of how effective a simple "North South" game can be when you have Jake's wheels, strength, and aggression. Certainly he'll face better defences than Philasdelphia's tonight but it's a great start and certainly should give his confidence a big boost. Love it!

I ripped into Willie a couple pages back for his usage of Jake and McCann in the Deteoit game (and past games before that) so I'll step up and give him credit for how he used them last night. Moving Jake to a veteran line w Sutter and Burrows was a good decision and giving him a regular shift and letting Jake get into a regular rhythm made a huge difference. Yes he bobbled that breakaway but it was great to see him use his speed to get it in the first place. Anyone who can't see Virtanen's upside beyond hitting (which isn't useless either) has a limited view of the NHL game IMO. Good job by the kids and good job by Willie to loosen the reigns and give them a chance to shine. Hope to see more of that again.