Carl's Jn Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 If calgary or edmonton scoops him up then thats good for us...means others that where drafted higher then him will fall down the list right into our hands... either way a win win.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Fig Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I watched the highlights. The kid is very strong on his skates. His shot is good -not great. His IQ is normal. His skills are bullying his way to the net and cutting around the outside. His skating is average. He reminds me of Steve Bernier. A guy who had the full package in junior but could never elevate his game 2 steps at the NHL level and became a grinder. Unless he figures out how to grow to 6ft 5 and 250 pounds, he will not have the same physical advantages at the NHL level that afford him his glory in junior. I disagree. His shot is top drawer and will only get better as he gets stronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas19 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Ranked 8th on B Mac's list and yet a lot of guys on here are making it sound like he won't even go in the top 10... This draft is rather weak. Outside the top 5 the talent drops off a bit. There isn't much difference from 6 to 10. I say go with the local kid. The Canucks have never drafted local kids and they have missed out on some really special players as a result. The Nucks need to start drafting more local kids and I say start with Virtanen. There is no player outside the top 5 that has distinguished themselves from the rest. I would say that the 6-10 group are all pretty equal and I would argue that if you're looking for a tie breaker to decide what player to draft then you should go with the local kid. Playing for the team you grew up cheering for has got to give you some extra motivation. Hell I know if it was me I would be 10x more motivated to play for the Canucks then any other team in the NHL. (Mike Santorelli anyone?) That being said if one of the top 5 ranked guys fall out of the first 5 picks then you have to take him. Or if the scouts have seen something that they think is special in another player then go with him. The scouts know more than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanNuck Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I certainly would draft Virtanen if for nothing else, he is a hometown boy. Two questions though, I wonder how does he fare as a character, and what is his leadership/team play rating? Secondly, if he is every bit as good as you say he is - and I've seen other reports that conclude so - will he be available by the time we go up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tearloch7 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I know nothing of Virtanen other than what I have read on-line and from sharing here .. one thing that most analysts seem to question is his hockey IQ .. is this why he is not top 5? .. everything else seems almost semi-elite potential Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl's Jn Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Ranked 8th on B Mac's list and yet a lot of guys on here are making it sound like he won't even go in the top 10... This draft is rather weak. Outside the top 5 the talent drops off a bit. There isn't much difference from 6 to 10. I say go with the local kid. The Canucks have never drafted local kids and they have missed out on some really special players as a result. The Nucks need to start drafting more local kids and I say start with Virtanen. There is no player outside the top 5 that has distinguished themselves from the rest. I would say that the 6-10 group are all pretty equal and I would argue that if you're looking for a tie breaker to decide what player to draft then you should go with the local kid. Playing for the team you grew up cheering for has got to give you some extra motivation. Hell I know if it was me I would be 10x more motivated to play for the Canucks then any other team in the NHL. (Mike Santorelli anyone?) That being said if one of the top 5 ranked guys fall out of the first 5 picks then you have to take him. Or if the scouts have seen something that they think is special in another player then go with him. The scouts know more than I do. your consensus of the draft is misguided... you say there is a drop off from 6-10 but in the same breath you say the canucks can have a chance of missing a special player... also your draft order can be rearranged depending who picks who. Sam reinhart for example is now regarded as a number 1 prospect due to his great playoff performance. if that happens then things will fall down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloubek Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I disagree with Absent. I think this guy has all the tools. He looks to have better than average hockey IQ in my opinion, a good shot, and he drives to the net as well - something a player like Booth was supposed to do. He's not flashy - just powerful and a strong all-around player. And if he's all about the Canucks, then I'm all about drafting him. I too see him being a Linden-like player; in skillset anyway, but perhaps even more the kind of player we were/are all hoping Kassian will be. However, "weak" draft or not, there are some very good players rated higher which could potentially be available who will become solid 1st liners down the road. So I'm not sold this guy should be our pick 100%, but I would not be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camerican18 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I use to know Jake, my brother coached him a while back and honestly, the guy doesn't have a great attitude, he's kinda a little mean. Pick someone else with a better attitude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merci Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 ^ Ritchie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I think Button just predicted the Nucks taking Virtanen 6th overall. : :D Don't really get the hype with Virtanen. I see Ritchie and Ehlers being better than Virtanen in terms of speed, shot, stickhandling and vision. Plus if one of the consensus top 5 is available, we would be insane to not draft one of them at #6. This just all reminds me of Kris Beach which we thankfully passed over for Hodgson. Now Beach isn't even in the NHL while we have traded Hodgson for Kassian (both still in the NHL). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Don't really get the hype with Virtanen. I see Ritchie and Ehlers being better than Virtanen in terms of speed, shot, stickhandling and vision. Plus if one of the consensus top 5 is available, we would be insane to not draft one of them at #6. This just all reminds me of Kris Beach which we thankfully passed over for Hodgson. Now Beach isn't even in the NHL while we have traded Hodgson for Kassian (both still in the NHL). Ritchie isn't faster than Virtanen. Virtanen is one of the fastest players over 200 lbs in the draft. Virtanen skates a lot like Booth when Booth skates well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I know nothing of Virtanen other than what I have read on-line and from sharing here .. one thing that most analysts seem to question is his hockey IQ .. is this why he is not top 5? .. everything else seems almost semi-elite potential The most important factor to being elite is hockey IQ. You can have all the elite tools but not be elite due to lack of hockey sense. If Booth had hockey IQ and vision/playmaking ability, he would probably be compared to the elites like Perry or Giroux. I want someone with hockey IQ, a player like Dal Colle, Draisatl, Bennett, Reinhart etc. Even Ritchie has a higher hockey IQ and better vision than Virtanen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Ritchie isn't faster than Virtanen. Virtanen is one of the fastest players over 200 lbs in the draft. Virtanen skates a lot like Booth when Booth skates well. Do you put more emphasis on speed or hockey IQ? I think you can increase speed by getting a skating coach but hockey IQ can't be taught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I certainly would draft Virtanen if for nothing else, he is a hometown boy. Two questions though, I wonder how does he fare as a character, and what is his leadership/team play rating? Secondly, if he is every bit as good as you say he is - and I've seen other reports that conclude so - will he be available by the time we go up? Hometown boys? Like Brule, Beach etc? I want them to draft the best player available without looking at where they are from. Not all the hometown boys are great players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Canucks are running out of guys with good vision. Virtanen doesn't help. Uh oh, better call their optometrists and see if we have to change their contact lenses.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 The most important factor to being elite is hockey IQ. You can have all the elite tools but not be elite due to lack of hockey sense. If Booth had hockey IQ and vision/playmaking ability, he would probably be compared to the elites like Perry or Giroux. I want someone with hockey IQ, a player like Dal Colle, Draisatl, Bennett, Reinhart etc. Even Ritchie has a higher hockey IQ and better vision than Virtanen. that and 'heart'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexEdler11 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I'll take draisailt, dal colle or Ritchie before virtanen. But I wouldn't mind virtanenthis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Example of what I mean by hockey IQ? Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OgGePOnwNg Notice the patience with the puck, the vision and how he sees the ice. That is what separates Leon from Virtanen. What the Canucks need more of in order to score more goals are more players that have that vision and that elite playmaking ability similar to Henrik Sedin. What we have in spades are the strictly north and south players that keep their head down and shoot or dump and chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everybody Hates Raymond Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I want the German kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCon1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I want the German kid. I also want him. Him or Dal Colle for his Naslund like wrist shots. Both are great so I hope Edmonton and Calgary pick way off board and allow these two to fall in our laps for the picking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.