Off_The_Schneid! Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 My only worries with having jake in the nhl next year is that he is going to throw his body on the line inorder to impress at training camp. He is a huge hitter and is going to go out of his way to showcase that. Could be a recipe for an early injury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I remain of the wish that Jake, who has citizenship by birthright in Europe (Denmark if I remember right) could play a pro year in Europe. Someone, pretty sure Elvis, suggested there are transfer agreements where his CHL team would be owed a transfer fee is in the way. But if Jake were to make a reasonable salary, or the Canucks were willing to front part, I am sure there is a way? He could play against men in a highly competitive league, possibly the SEL. Learn alternate playing styles. And living in Europe would be a GREAT experience for any 19 year old. How many kids do a gap year traveling before buckling at uni? Jake could make a couple hundred grand, and gain a better hockey experience. WHL's not terribly far off the quality of competition in most Euro leagues... Not sure it's worth it to jump through all the required hoops (if it's even possible) and also have him half way around the world where it's far more difficult to keep tabs on his development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bure_Pavel Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 My only worries with having jake in the nhl next year is that he is going to throw his body on the line inorder to impress at training camp. He is a huge hitter and is going to go out of his way to showcase that. Could be a recipe for an early injury I was thinking the same thing, he usually goes right through players in junior. In the NHL he probably won't be able to do that for the first couple years and could end up getting rocked and injured by much stronger NHL dmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glov3s Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I got to watch Virtanen last night vs. the Cougars. One thing I noticed right away is his presence on the ice. When he is out there, you notice him every shift. He played a very driven game and his compete level was higher than anyone else on his team. He is slightly above average-size but he is thick and you can tell by the way he plays that he is much stronger than most of the other players out there. He stands up for teammates and he is a definite leader on the Hitmen. As far as offence goes Jake has it all: size, speed, a nose for the net, and he always seemed to be in the right position to give/take a pass or hit a rebound chance. He has a really hard, accurate shot and a very quick release (as Edmonds learned the hard way last night). He is very aggressive on the forecheck which is nice, however, it put him out of position on occasion. He is fortunate because his speed usually allowed him to get back into the play quickly. He seemed to be absolutely dominant off the rush, blowing past the Cougars in the neutral zone and gaining the blue-line with ease. He has pretty good vision and set up a number of teammates off the rush, but they couldn't bury the chances. He is good with his stick and can take the puck away from players easily, but it's very obvious that he is not a defence-first kind of player. He will get back and help out his team in the defensive zone (he back checks hard) but he is nothing like Horvat in the defensive zone (he also plays wing which makes this comparison kind of moot). He is exciting to watch and he plays his best hockey when he plays with a chip on his shoulder or when the game is on the line.(He was noticeably better when the Hitmen were down by a goal). In regards to making the team next year, I doubt he will. I do agree that he has the size and skill to make the NHL but he needs to mature positionally and defensively a little bit before he makes the leap. This is not to say his positioning or defence are bad (which they are not), but they are not his strongest attributes. He is dominant offensively and I would say slightly above average defensively. People who are comparing him to Bo need to realize that the reason we picked Horvat was because of his insanely good 2-way game. His hockey sense, vision, and strength (not to mention face-off skills) were all elite in the OHL last year. He did get a number of points, but his ability to play in all three zones was what set him apart from other players with similar stats. Those are the attributes that allowed Bo to transition to the NHL so easily (not his offensive flair). Virtanen is a much different player. He is a POWER FORWARD through and through. He plays an offensively driven game which will take more time to flourish in the NHL. He also is not elite defensively, which will make it harder for him to crack the roster right away (as he will make rookie mistakes and cost us goals). There is no doubt in my mind that Virtanen will be a big part of the Canucks in the future, but I expect at least another year of dominating junior and perhaps a year of learning the pro game in Utica. I doubt he'll be in the AHL long, however, because once he learns the little things that make a pro a pro, his size, speed, and offensive skills will carry him through to the NHL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Did you see the game winner for the Cougars? On another note I watched Virtanen tonight and he is really fast, didn't seem to be as big as people are making him out to be though. He wasn't small, but just seemed like average size, but it's unusual because he was fast like you only usually see from small guys. Pretty good shot and his defensive game actually seemed to be a lot better than I've been hearing. He was in position well, hard on the puck and back checking hard. He stopped an empty netter at the end of the third when he won a race for the puck that he had no business winning. I don't think he will make the canucks out of training camp next year with our overload of players fighting for roster spots but he will definitely make that a hard decision for them. I am excited for him when he does make the team, he plays a really dominant game. I've got no doubt that he makes the Canucks in the next couple years. Very good post, thanks for popping it in. Edit ^^^ Same for Glov 3 Edited March 5, 2015 by Canuck Surfer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 WHL's not terribly far off the quality of competition in most Euro leagues... Not sure it's worth it to jump through all the required hoops (if it's even possible) and also have him half way around the world where it's far more difficult to keep tabs on his development. Playing against 25 year old forwards who are6', 6'1'' & 190 to 210 lbs. And with pro's? Instead of 17 year old guys 5'10 & 165 to 180 lbs... People who, train, diet, eat, live, sleep to earn there living will be a better experience. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Playing against 25 year old forwards who are6', 6'1'' & 190 to 210 lbs. And with pro's? Instead of 17 year old guys 5'10 & 165 to 180 lbs... People who, train, diet, eat, live, sleep to earn there living will be a better experience. Just my opinion. didnt bode well for jensen. Imo it hurt his development rather than help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstewboy Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 This thread is turning into the Bo Horvat thread of a year ago. I think given the success they have had with Bo on the 4th line this year, they will be far more inclined to give Virtanen the same shot. Just like Horvat, he has more pros than cons that will translate nicely to the NHL and can work on polishing parts of his game that will be exposed playing against men instead of boys. Oh and also, Change is Coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstewboy Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 didnt bode well for jensen. Imo it hurt his development rather than help. It's too bad Jensen is not Canadian..... He seems to be missing that competitive edge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Playing against 25 year old forwards who are6', 6'1'' & 190 to 210 lbs. And with pro's? Instead of 17 year old guys 5'10 & 165 to 180 lbs... People who, train, diet, eat, live, sleep to earn there living will be a better experience. Just my opinion. While there are certainly smaller players in Jr. There are a lot of Virtanen (and bigger) sized ones as well. Especially in the W. I didn't say they were the same/comparable leagues, I'm just not sure it's as big of a jump as you're making it out to be. Maybe the K, sure. But the rest of the Euro leagues aren't THAT much better than the better Jr. clubs I'd wager. They also won't play the style of hockey we want Jake to. Edited March 5, 2015 by J.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snizzle_ Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 didnt bode well for jensen. Imo it hurt his development rather than help. Playing for AIK definitely helped him on the offensive instincts side of things. He scored 17 goals in his first year pro. But like above, it's bringing those instincts to the game every day on a smaller ice surface that has definitely got him at a cross roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Playing for AIK definitely helped him on the offensive instincts side of things. He scored 17 goals in his first year pro. But like above, it's bringing those instincts to the game every day on a smaller ice surface that has definitely got him at a cross roads. so it helped him play well on big ice. Fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snizzle_ Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 so it helped him play well on big ice. Fantastic. I mean it's not like he put up fantastic offensive numbers in the CHL either. I think the issue of him competing and producing at a consistent level on NA ice was always there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) I mean it's not like he put up fantastic offensive numbers in the CHL either. I think the issue of him competing and producing at a consistent level on NA ice was always there.im just saying that going to Europe did not help jensens pro game what so ever. Didnt he have like 5 goals in 3 games with the moose or wolves before even going to Europe? Edited March 5, 2015 by Gooseberries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 If Virtanen makes the team next year will there be a lot of backpedalling about the draft choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 WHL's not terribly far off the quality of competition in most Euro leagues... Not sure it's worth it to jump through all the required hoops (if it's even possible) and also have him half way around the world where it's far more difficult to keep tabs on his development. Yup, it's not going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snizzle_ Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) im just saying that going to Europe did not help jensens pro game what so ever. Didnt he have like 5 goals in 3 games with the moose or wolves before even going to Europe? Fair enough, I guess you're right. He had 4 goals in 6 games with the Wolves after the 11-12' season in the OHL. Then went to the SEL and played 50 games and scored 17 goals with AIK. He came back later that season and played 2 games with the Canucks and played 20 games with Chicago only putting up 2 goals and 4 points. Back to Virtanen, I'm also going to reserve my judgement for where he plays in till training camp of 15-16. There's really no point in debating what happens to him next season right now. Last year at this time, I would have said Horvat was 20%/80% to stay/go back. Pre-season I was a little less weary, and then I was surprised he made it past 9 games. The rest is history and he looks to have come into his own. In the end, he's going to play where is best suited for his development in JB eyes and that we don't know and can't determine because we're not him. Edited March 5, 2015 by junglesniper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 If Virtanen makes the team next year will there be a lot of backpedalling about the draft choice? And if he doesn't? Or if Nylander/Ehlers/etc. do? We're well past worrying about who we picked, don't try to be smug about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuckin Kingsly Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Yessir, I agree 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuckin Kingsly Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I wouldn't surprised at all to see him back in Jr. next season but more than 1 season in the AHL is unlikely. If he even gets to the AHL it may even be less than one season. But we'll see...Oops it didn't quote ya. My bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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