Well, take it as you will, and I being one of those 'extremely negative' people am a little frustrated.
The way I see it was heading into the draft we already had a plethora of prospects who could fill in third and second line roles as they develop. What we're missing in a big way is a #1 D and first line forwards. Now don't get me wrong Virtanen still has that potential, but his offensive ceiling isn't close to the next two draftees. We didn't lose in 2011 because the Bruins beat us into submission, and we didn't suck last year because we lost against the big bad teams of the West. We lost because we couldn't score. That, was a direct result of the Sedins aging and us not having the offensive depth to support them.
Virtanen was not BPA in terms of offence. He was drafted for his size, his hitting, and perhaps a little bit because of his home-town ties.
What's been floating around in his defence? Even when he isn't producing he's contributing on the ice. But isn't that something you expect from any top end forward? Not every offensively skilled guy is going to turn into Phil Kessel. Look at Gaudreau, this friggin midget saved the game for the Flames yesterday, making three or four key blocks and stick lifts in the final minute of play.
Now I'm trying my hardest to like Virtanen, but many of the knocks on him by scouts from the draft have yet to shed by this kid. A lack of offensive progression has made it even harder still.
Here's to hoping that he just needs a change of scenery and somehow he manages to produce at a higher level at the pro level (AHL/NHL) but I'm not holding my breath. I think he'll top out as decent second liner, and that's fine for what he brings to the table. But I think given the position the Canucks are currently in prospects wise, we need to start looking at who will take over for the Sedins. McCann? Virtanen? Those are ridiculous expectations.
In fact, I think the same thing is going to happen to the genius who drafts Lawson Crouse relatively high this year.
I think I'll dub it 'Virtanen'd'.