Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Dekey Pete

Members
  • Posts

    1,628
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by Dekey Pete

  1. Alf is alright, it's some other posters that are having a hard time coming to terms with reality.
  2. I think the problem a lot of people are having is that this thread should not be to discuss who Jim Benning should or shouldn't have selected at the 6th overall. I'm sure there's a draft thread somewhere where you can debate that endlessly. This is the Jake Virtanen Talk thread, and the discussion should be around Jake, and what he's doing NOW. I'm so tired (and I'm sure plenty of others agree) of hearing about how badly Jim messed up this pick and that he could have had an impact player sooner. That may be true, but it has NOTHING to do with Jake, the one who we got, it was a management decision a few years ago and it's in the past now... let it go.
  3. Virtanen has the 3rd highest shots on goal per game (Grenier: 2.34, Subban: 2.29 and Virt: 2.26) on the team, for players with over 10 games played. He also is amongst some of the lowest shooting percentages on the team. Leads you to believe that he is getting his chances but just not converting.
  4. Is it so wrong to get a little excited about some progress with our prospects? Someone posts a highlight video of Jake playing a solid game, and feel the need to chime in and trash him because it's only a single game? If you want to have an opinion about him fine. But you sit on this high horse where you claim all of your criticism is well deserved, backed by facts, and that you are above sarcasm, and then you go and post things like you did above. I'll admit, some of (in fact a lot of) the flaws you mention in Jake's game are 100% true, but no one wants to come to this forum and see your constant crapping on our 20 year old prospect. Everyone knows he's struggling, but your "Oh thank god Virtanen looks good in this 9 minute highlight video, I was starting to get worried." sarcasm isn't anything but an obvious troll.
  5. " All you ever do is leave sarcastic remarks and complain about other people's complaining and it's getting old. I'm not breaking any rules here so if you want to provide some real perspective or opinion on Jake and is play I'm all ears. If not, beat it. " Take some of your own advice there 5th.
  6. What on earth were the defensemen doing there?? "oh, he beat us to the boards, let's both step back and give him space..."
  7. will you look at Nino's first two seasons on the islander's and how he's turned it around. 1 point in 55 games and a -29? Can you imagine the reaction here if he was one of our prospects?
  8. Someone said he busted his stick right after, so yeah, I think he realizes he made a mistake.
  9. You can't practice every situation, no. But you can practice a lot of them, and that's what practices are for. The more times you practice 2 on 1's, 3 on 1's etc., the more natural it feels in a game situation. You think someone with high hockey IQ (let's say McDavid) just woke up one morning and was a brilliant hockey player? No, without even looking I'm guessing the guy has played hockey his whole life and practiced the hell out of it until these things started to come naturally to him. Now your point about common sense, there's something I can agree with.
  10. That's exactly what I'm trying to say! Some people are measuring him against other guys who have clearly "picked it up" quicker than Jake. But Jake isn't them, and that's okay. Jake is a unique player in his own, and if it does sink in for him he will be a solid NHL player that any team would love to have. It's all up to Jake though and if he's got the commitment to make it happen. The whole, "he's limited to the 4th line because he's as dumb as a brick" rhetoric is getting pretty old.
  11. What does it matter what everybody else is doing? Jake is on his own development path, might not be as quick as some of the "everybody else" you're talking about but he's also a different player. Not sure how what you're saying is even relevant, unless you want to start another "who should we have drafted 2 years ago with the benefit of hindsight" debate.
  12. Practice and repetition can also help someone read and understand the play before it happens. Some people might come by this more easier than others (those we say have high hockey IQ), but to say it can't be taught? Maybe teach isn't the right word, since you can't exactly tell someone to make smarter plays and read the player better, but it's a skill that can definitely be improved.
  13. I'm curious, where does this "you can't teach hockey IQ" cliche come from anyways? It's said over and over again when analyzing prospects, but is it really even true? Would any of you admit that you haven't gained intelligence since you were a 19 year old? That Jake can't sit down with the coach, go over video, learn from his mistakes? How is that not teaching hockey IQ? I'm by no means trying to single you out, but it's just a weird thing to say that once someone is 18-19 years old and drafted that their intelligence is locked in for their whole career. I just don't buy it.
  14. Clearly 5th is more concerned about "owning" people then actually having a meaningful discussion. Congratulations for "winning" at CDC.
  15. And how did the rest of Tom's NHL career go? How about Dane Fox? Both those examples are guys who dominated juniors because of their size, but when it came time for the pros they couldn't keep up because they were both HORRIBLE skaters. Jake may have had an easier time in the WHL being a big kid, but that's not to take away from his other skills (speed, shot, hitting). Again, he just needs to get there mentally, and decide if he has what it takes to commit to being a professional day in and day out. Sometimes 19-20 year old kids don't make great decisions, but he's got time to mature.
  16. You are relentless! C'mon, "highly unlikely he's going to become anything more than a 4th liner"? This isn't Tom Sestito we're talking about here... Jake has all of the tools to be a great player (foot speed, shot, hitting) all he needs to do is put in some damn effort. That can be coached.
  17. He went from having a roster spot on an NHL team to playing the 3rd/4th line on an AHL team. If that's not a wake up call then I don't know what is. I think whatever perception he had of himself coming into the NHL is gone, and he's going to realize that he needs to work at his game and start acting like a pro in order to make it back up.
  18. Those same posters also have the benefit of HINDSIGHT when they are doing their whining. Successful NHL players are judged on their performance over their entire CAREERS, not just their draft +1, +2, +3 seasons. Just because player A makes it to the NHL before player B does not guarantee player A will go on to have the better career. It's not rocket surgery to most people, but there are many posters on here that are just way too short sighted to see it.
  19. I see a lot of the time he is shooting and going around the outside of the net. What I'd like to see him do more is drive that shoulder down and power across the front of the net and crease. Once he get's comfortable he should start using his size more, but it's a big adjustment from bullying 17-19 year olds in the WHL to full grown men in the NHL or even AHL for that matter.
  20. Archie's been on a tear this year. I'm surprised he hasn't earned a call-up, though maybe he just isn't part of the Canuck's future plans.
  21. What really stands out to me is that he is actually very noticeable this time around. I've watched a bunch of them over the past few months, and in many of the games you can't find a single highlight with #18. Not a shot attempt, a big hit, a good defensive play, nothing. I don't know if it's due to limited ice-time, or if he really has just been playing some lackluster games, I don't follow Utica enough to really know. But it's games like these that really revive my hope for his future. He just needs the professional mentality, and I think he's surrounded by the right people to make it happen.
  22. Highlights from Utica's January 11th game. Like many of you, I'm stuck with these short highlight packages to see how our prospects are playing. I must say though, Jake is a very noticeable player (in a good way) this past game. He's playing like a big, fast winger, using his skills to his advantage and it looks like he's got some confidence. Now of course his challenge will be to carry this into the next game, and the game after that and so on. The kid still has a ton of potential.
  23. Coasting is something he is definitely guilty of.
  24. That is so far from true. The rest of what you said might have merit, but Jake's problem was not his defence. If anything he was playing an overly defensive game and not using his offence enough.
×
×
  • Create New...