Tiger-Hearted

Calgary wins 4-3 in Spokane and ZERO points AGAIN for Virtanen. **SIGH** I wonder if Linden, Benning, and Hitmen management know something that we at CDC don't, ie. playing through another bad injury, unhappy in Calgary, etc.

I do agree that another year back in juniors will do Virtanen a lot of good. Hopefully, he would get a chance to play with McCann on Team Canada at next year's WJC. However, I wouldn't label Virtanen "streaky". Not for a guy who scored 45 goals in 71 games last season. He's far better than Kassian ever was. I do wonder if Virtanen is playing with an undisclosed injury. Perhaps, like Shinkaruk, Virtanen has lost some off-season development due to his recovery from surgery. So, perhaps, his timing might be off.

Wonder if Virtanen is playing with an undisclosed injury. The Hitmen are doing well and JV only has one goal this month. Last year, his production was far more consistent.

The problem with today's NHL is that the game is over-coached and there's too much of an obsession with trying to turn players into Selke Trophy candidates, no thanks to Jacques Lemaire. Almost every goalie in hockey is as big as hulking stay-at-home defencemen with oversized equipment, making scoring even more difficult. Just for the record, the Canucks, as "an Original 21" franchise, have one of the lowest point totals in the league for a highest scoring rookie on a club - 60 points and that total belongs to Bure and 32-year old Ivan Hlinka. I would love nothing more than to see that record broken. I would love to see the Canucks have their first non-Russian to score 50 goals. Wasn't it fun to see Naslund take a run at 50 when he scored 48?? Could have scored 50 had he not broken his leg in Buffalo that one year and missed 8 games. Wasn't it fun to see the Sedins score back-to-back Art Ross Trophies? One of the best things that could happen to this franchise is if Virtanen and McCann play together after next season and develop great chemistry, which I believe they can. Like the Sedins. Like Linden and Ronning. Like Tanti and Sundstrom. Like Vaive and Derlago(in Toronto ).

Something I don't understand. Horvat was drafted for his two-way play. He wasn't drafted to score goals and isn't expected to score goals. Not regularly. Virtanen, on the other hand, was drafted for his respective attributes which includes goalscoring. Why is he expected to be something that he's not? Not saying that he shouldn't work on backchecking but he doesn't have to be molded into a future Selke winner. That's a trophy I see Horvat winning in the future. Virtanen should continue to work on his goalscoring skills so that one day, he can compete for a future Richard Trophy. He's a guy who will outscore his defensive deficiencies. Especially if he plays with a strong two-way centre.

Jeff Brown, Lord no!! Don't want any marriages and dressing room harmony ruined. Let's go with Paul Reinhart or Rick Lanz.

Jensen is what he is. He will look like a 50-goal scorer one week and then disappear for long stretches. He never cracked 30 goals in juniors while Horvat and Gaunce have.

Very well put. I see Virtanen having chemistry with the likes of McCann. Both are excellent skaters with a lethal shot.

Virtanen's shoulder or the rust of post surgery might still be bothering him. Probably explains his lack of production.

No points for Virtanen again. :'( Attention Hitmen coach: #18 is your number one goalscorer! Not your number one checker!

Players are only as good the linemates they with. I mentioned this before and I'll say it again....Horvat and McCann are both left-handed centres. If Virtanen plays with either one of them down the road, the chemistry could be enormous. Neely had Craig Janney(later Adam Oates) as his setup man in Boston. Brett Hull had Oates[remember 'Hull & Oates' (later Janney)] in St. Louis. The last guy I want to bring up is former Blackhawks power forward, Al Secord. His best goal total in juniors was 32 goals in the QMJHL in 57 games, followed by 28 goals in 59 games. When Boston traded him to Chicago, Secord blossomed into a 40 and 50 goal scorer when he was put on Denis Savard's line. He is still the only NHL player to amass 40+ goals and 300+ penalty minutes in the same season. Very similar to Virtanen in several ways but Secord accumulated a huge number of PIM due to his red-hot temper. JV seems more disciplined and knows how to pick his battles. So, if either Horvat or McCann were to play with JV and develop chemistry, we could be in for some VERY exciting hockey.

What I'm talking about is both their personal maturity and attitude. No self-entitlement from either guy. Horvat is definitely more refined in his game but just those attributes that I had just mentioned are where I see the resemblance.

Very good points. JV's lack of consistent production is very frustrating. It's almost the end of January and the rust from coming back from his shoulder rehab should be long gone. I don't blame JV's struggles on lack of hockey IQ. He didn't score 45 goals in 71 games last season by accident. I think, he's not playing with a quality centre who JV can have regular chemistry with. It wouldn't surprise me if Benning would like JV on the Canucks next season and have WD work on Virtanen's defensive game. I am definitely not impressed with the Hitmen. Not in the same class as Medicine Hat and Kelowna when it comes to developing young players. Ideally, it would be great if JV played with Horvat. Develop chemistry with a centre who will be his teammate for a very long time.

JV's stats would be a lot better if he played on a team that knew how to utilize his offensive strengths. Only 2 points in an 8-0 win. Would have at least 10 more goals if he played in Medicine Hat, Kamloops or Kelowna. Can't wait until he plays with guys like McCann or BoHo.

Virtanen has exactly the same maturity as Horvat. Accepting the role that he was given at the WJC, that's impressive. While I can see BoHo being a future Canucks captain, I most definitely see JV wearing an 'A' and being BoHo's right-hand man in the leadership department.

It's The Curse of Johnny Canuck. And it goes back to Black Tuesday, 1970. When the Canucks abandoned JC when they joined the NHL, the franchise has been cursed ever since. Hope and pray that JV doesn't become damaged goods. Dog freaking gonnit!

I felt JV had a fine tournament and did what was expected of him. We all want to see Canuck prospects do well at the WJC but based on history, one can't be too high or too low over a prospect's WJC performance. Remember CoHo's outstanding performance in '09? And for those old enough to remember - Jim Sandlak's killer performance in '86. Very likely influenced management to favour Sandlak over Cam Neely, which led to one of the worst trades in NHL history. If JV develops future chemistry with the likes of either Horvat or McCann(both left-handed centres), his Canucks future will be very fun to watch. No matter what Ferraro or other so-called experts say.

Now, WHY didn't I think of that??!! JV could be the Canucks' version of 'Superman', Geroy Simon.

Something just came to mind. Sorry if it's irrelevant but I have been thinking about JV's future Canucks jersey number. Say, if Ryan Stanton doesnt go anywhere and wears #18, which by the way is JV's junior number. What would you think about JV wearing his birth year, #96, which was Bure's number for a couple of years. We all know the Russian Rocket's history with that number but perhaps, it could worn by the right guy for the right reasons and not by the wrong guy for the wrong reasons(American citizenship year). Overall, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. However, it's something to think about because Virtanen jerseys are going to be a future hot seller.

Gaunce is finding his scoring touch in the pros. Scored his 4th goal on the power play in a 6-3 win against Lake Erie.

Can't teach what JV does. It's all in the hands as well as his feet and hardnosed determination.

Trade Kassian back to Buffalo so he can play with Hodgson. Get the Sabres' 2nd round picks in '15 & '16 to draft quality defensemen. Looking at how well BoHo is playing on the 4th line, I can't see Gaunce not having success on the 4th line as well. He has the size and his positioning is very solid

@HowYaDrouin, thanks for sharing your observations on JV. However, I have read the reference to defensive play a couple of times. Now, I totally agree with being able to play well without the puck. My main concern is, is junior hockey not coaching defensive play enough or is pro hockey over-coaching defence?? Seeing the return of 50 to 60-goal scorers not named Stamkos is what hockey needs. I would very much like to see the Canucks have their first 50-goal guy since Bure's last season in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, a quiet offensive night for JV. Only +1 and no points on 9 goals scored.

I wonder if GM Scott Bonner is thinking about that right now. With the Memorial Cup being back in Vancouver next season, wouldn't it be great to have a local Canucks top prospect on the local junior team and have him get a chance to win a Memorial Cup in his home area?? And the amount of tickets JV will sell! Wow.