JamesB Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I really don't like the Calgary Hitmen coaching staff. They tend to bounce Virtanen around the line up. Sometimes he'd skate on the third line, and then get boosted to the 2nd line and then back down to the third line and then skates 2-3 shifts on the 1st line with Tambellini and Rankin who are both overagers that are leading the charge for the Hitmens. He has no play-making center and his lines are with players picked at the 6th or 7th round pick. His usual line is Fazleev/Lang/Virtanen. All of them are not centers, so Virtanen plays the center role at times since he can play better center than both of them. His 1st line is with a 3rd round pick, overager in Tambellini and an undrafted but promising forward Connor Rankin. Maybe French's way of thinking was that since the overage 1st line can produce scoring, if Virtanen can help boost the 2nd line with his skill set, he can then have balanced scoring lines. I hope this is the thinking or else Virtanen needs to get the hell out of there. He needs quality line mates. Nothing against Fazleev, Tambellini, Rankin, Lang, but I want Virtanen to succeed. Let's hope after next year, Virtanen can take charge once the over-agers leave this year. He's pretty much their best player. Obviously stats don't show that with Virtanen being injured for majority for the 1st half and him missing a lot of games due to the World Juniors. So really it's not lack of production and lack of consistency. He's been very good for the Hitmen's even though it doesn't stay on the stat sheet. In his last two games ever since him being injured day-to-day with that shoulder, he's had 3 points (1g 2a). 26GP/11G/17A/28P/40PIMS/+8. Good points, guys, and somewhat reassuring. I admit that I do not know much about the Hitmen and their coaching staff. I can believe that the the coaches want to balance the lines to try to maximize wins rather than focus on development of their top players. It would be nice to see Jake play consistently with high-end players so he can start developing the kind of reads that he will need in the NHL. Let's hope he gets traded. However, the Hitmen certainly had a good weekend, as did Jake personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Virtanen had a good night, Bean is a really good OFD, skates well and has a good first pass, key player on the PP. I I think Calgary might be a top team in the WHL next year, they'll have veteran talent in Fazleev, Lang, Virtanen, Karnaukhov, Sanheim, Thomas and young talent in Bean, Malenstyn. I think a couple trades to help out for high-end 1st line talent along with Virtanen is something to help them win the WHL. Good find. Jake Bean may be worthy of a 5th round selection in this year's draft. He's probably a 1st rounder. The defence won't be as strong as 2015 but it'll be strong especially from the WHL side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuktravella Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 3 points not bad. hitmen seem to be doing well imagine if virtanen had a top line center to set him up all night like mcdavid btw mcdavid got five points tonight that kid is sick 4 assists 1 goal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuktravella Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 jake will get canada another gold medal next yr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd. Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 3 points not bad. hitmen seem to be doing well imagine if virtanen had a top line center to set him up all night like mcdavid btw mcdavid got five points tonight that kid is sick 4 assists 1 goal I hope that too. Virtanen and a quality center would be so good for him next year if he's still with the hitmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Damn..the Vancouver Giants are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 jake will get canada another gold medal next yr If he isn't playing wing in the NHL... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 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. I Completely disagree Horvat's game on the ice is far more mature IMO. Off the ice they both seem like great people, but on the ice Virtanen definitely needs to mature & develop. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Plum Posted January 26, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Not my vid. He looks so dominant out there, his speed and skill is already hard to contain but the players know Virtanen hits hard and plays aggressively so I think when he has the puck, opponents are so intimidated that they back off. Sometimes it looks like the players he hit are overreacting like the WWE but they're not, wow. Reminds me of Eichel on a few plays, quick speed and that toe-drag to slow the game down then fire a laser. Edited January 26, 2015 by Plum 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger-Hearted Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I Completely disagree Horvat's game on the ice is far more mature IMO. Off the ice they both seem like great people, but on the ice Virtanen definitely needs to mature & develop. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Not my vid. He looks so dominant out there, his speed and skill is already hard to contain but the players know Virtanen hits hard and plays aggressively so I think when he has the puck, opponents are so intimidated that they back off. Sometimes it looks like the players he hit are overreacting like the WWE but they're not, wow. Reminds me of Eichel on a few plays, quick speed and that toe-drag to slow the game down then fire a laser. here's the embedded version: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 here's the embedded version: It's a thing to behold. Skates like Gartner, hits like Stevens, shoots like LeClair. He is still a boy and has 2 years of growing. The biggest detriment may be his temper. He has that Finnish temper like Ruutu had. May take some retaliatory penalties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewH Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) I kind of hope he does take SOME retalitory penalties. Love the emotion he plays with. You see how red his face gets? Edited January 26, 2015 by AndrewH 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I kind of hope he does take SOME retalitory penalties. Love the emotion he plays with. You see how red his face gets? Agree. Some edge to his game is more than welcome. So long as he can keep it largely in check from going OVER that edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 What a beauty we have in this kid. So many rushes died with that shot on goal from the sidewall, but once he learns to start looking for his teammates more often...watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeanBeef Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Yes but once you get to the NHL, that physical difference becomes less pronounced. Virtanen may be a big boy in junior, but he's not even a big PF in the NHL at 6'1" 210~lbs (maybe he'll grow more). He's above average, and he'll certainly be able to still skate through a few guys, but it'll be less of an advantage at the NHL level. He'll need to excel at other things to be a successful NHLer, and I think he's already working on a few things. Virtanen's dad looked around 6'3. Jake still looks baby faced so maybe he can grow a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Bang Boogie Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 What does everyone think about Max Pacioretty as a comparable for Virtanen? Both have similar size, great skating ability and laser like release on their shots. I think Virtanen will end up being a more physical player than Pacioretty, but I would love to see Virtanen end up being a 35+ goal scorer like Pacioretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 He probably won't be knocking people over while on offense in the NHL like he is in junior, but it is a great sign that he will be a net presence. His game is going to translate well to the NHL, he operates with precision at speed. This is the most excited I've been for a prospect in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Unfair to compare I know but this akes me think of Pavel... The surreal thing about that night was as Jim Robson described -- everyone that was there knew that finally, we had a real genuine superstar on the also-ran Vancouver Canucks. Jake has high end speed but Bure had the insane acceleration that put him at top speed in like 2 strides, wish I coulda seen him live, my fav player ever. Im soooo stoked for Virtanen though. Nobody in the league ever caught Pavel once he got going. Nobody. Funny, Cliff Ronning said the same thing about one of his two shifts that first night where he blew through the D that I thought at the time -- don't think I've ever seen anyone skate that fast, not even Bure after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Yes but once you get to the NHL, that physical difference becomes less pronounced. Virtanen may be a big boy in junior, but he's not even a big PF in the NHL at 6'1" 210~lbs (maybe he'll grow more). He's above average, and he'll certainly be able to still skate through a few guys, but it'll be less of an advantage at the NHL level. He'll need to excel at other things to be a successful NHLer, and I think he's already working on a few things. The thing with Jake, and what his brother laughs about, is that it's when guys get ready to hit him that they go flying. Jake's size is decent but it's the force he delivers from momentum and use of timed leverage that bowls guys over, not brute strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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