Freddy40

Dude - wow. Yep offseason goals for a professional athlete are really how many games you win on NHL 19, he must have just missed it by 2 wins and told the coaches after his fitness testing and that’s why they sent him a message. Really, his offseason goals as a pro athlete had nothing to do with fitness. It’s just a coincidence that the issue arose after fitness testing. Yep! They really wanted him to meet that offseason nhl 19 goal of 200 wins, that’s gotta be it! smh

Not getting it by the simple fact that he has top 6 talent but doesn’t want to “earn it”. Just because he did great in a bottom 6 role (and I’d say “better” as he was inconsistent and I do like him), doesn’t mean that’s “enough”. He was a 6th overall pick who has 25 goal ability and a lot to offer. The lack of professionalism he’s shown by not giving the effort in the offseason now 3 out of 4 years does suggest he’s not getting it. We didn’t draft him to be a 3rd/4th line winger. Now if that’s where he ends up because that’s his ceiling so be it, but you have to be your best to know where your ceiling is. He isn’t giving his best. Do you think if he came to camp in great shape (like Bo and Petey have), showing he was really committed this offseason people or the coaches would be on him? No, in fact he’d get a lot more rope because it would show he’s motivated and cares. His actions suggest the opposite.

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-camp-notes-virtanen-in-doghouse-after-flunking-physical-juolevis-knee-a-concern/amp do you think he was taking about how many jelly beans were in the jar Green has? Or were “off-season goals” about fitness. it seems many here want to play semantics and ignore common sense when it comes to what the issue is. I could care less if you want to be that ignorant. I like Jake but anyone who can’t see this is blatantly about his fitness is in denial.

Jake himself said he didn’t meet his fitness goals. Do you think the issue is because he was supposed to bring Green a Happy meal from McDonald’s and forgot? Dude really?

I think it’s about the maturity, attitude and professionalism. He’s no rookie. He’s been in the league 4 years now, the fact he’s not getting it yet is worrisome. Look at how Petey and Bo prepare and train, if Jake would put in the same effort he would be putting himself in the best position to become what he’s capable of. The one thing he can control is training, the fact he’s not understanding that yet, to most fans is disappointing. It’s suggesting that he may never “get it” because he just doesn’t want it bad enough.

I agree on Edler, and now having a d corps that can help carry some of the load will only make him better. He’ll be fresher on the ice and able to not have to shoulder all the hardest matchups. That’s the advantage of depth, players are fresher, the coach can be smarter with matchups, less injuries and less pressure on players allows them to play to their best. I’m really looking forward to watching our D this year, JB did a terrific job improving it.

Thanks! Seems similar to the other response!

Awesome thank you!

Doesn’t mean he can’t be traded. If he wants to stick on Vancouver he better wake up, and if traded, eventually he’ll run out of chances. You can only “tease” talent so long before you get passed by. Hunger will beat talent 10 out of 10 times, and it’s not like Jake has Petey level talent where he can pull this crap and think he can stick in the NHL long term.

It’s 100% about fitness which is tied to being a kid and not maturing. If on the first day after testing the coach says the team is really fit other than.... and the player admits he didn’t reach his offseason goals it’s blatantly obvious it’s about conditioning and fitness. It’s not about Jake stayed up late watching a movie friend.

Anyone who’s there, I would love to hear more on how some of our key prospects are looking. Gaudette - not much talk about him (which is good imho because he’s flying under the Canuck nation radar, meaning less chance of becoming a whipping boy while he develops). Juolevi - seen a bit on him but not much analysis Demko, Lind, Gadj, Mckewan thanks in advance!

I really like Jake and have often defended him vs many of my buddies who have been vocal in their dislike for him. That being said, it’s really disappointing to me as a fan to see a kid with all the tools, who really needed to show he was maturing and taking the next step to develop into an impactful pro, to not come into camp in ELITE shape. Jake was well aware what he needed to do, we have a team full of great role models (twins, beagle, burr, Roussell, that he’s been exposed to in regards to offseason preparation), and that ignores young players like Bo, Stech, Marky, etc, and he failed to do one of the simplest things within his control, show up in excellent shape. What this tells me is he really doesn’t get what it takes and maybe is just “satisfied” being in the NHL. If you have the drive to be the best, to compete, you train like a demon in the off-season, especially when you’re still haven’t proven a thing. The greats also are never satisfied and come back every year like they’ve never proven a thing, that’s what makes them great. Yes it’s nice to see Jake saying the right things now, but he said the right things at the end of the year last year, he clearly isn’t walking the walk. Sadly, I think this may be Jake’s last year with us if he doesn’t really commit now. His leash has shortened with all the wingers we have, the young talent still coming (podz/hogs). It may may take a trade away from his hometown to wake this kid up. I would hate to see it, because that trade may wake him up and then he may turn into what he can be and we miss out on it. But the sad part is, it seems if he stays, he may never “get it” here. Basically, someone else may benefit from all the pain we’ve gone through to get through to him. He’s a 22 yr old Pro Athlete. You have one job, one thing you can control, that’s your fitness. To show up out of shape at this stage of his career, given he’s done it before and knows it’s unacceptable, is as I said, truly disappointing.