Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Baer.]

I'd be surprised to see him play a game again this season. In NHL or AHL.

Edit: Unless it's game 82 and we've clinched. Throw him in to see what he can do.

Edited April 6, 2015 by BaerOxHitman

[winthecup]

yeah, i doubt virt plays any games for either team, but i can see him going to the nucks first and then the AHL if the nucks are eliminated first.

if thats the case we want Calgary to win tonight so he can continue playing. Not sure why people want Virtanens WHL playoffs to come to an end?

[avelanch]

if thats the case we want Calgary to win tonight so he can continue playing. Not sure why people want Virtanens WHL playoffs to come to an end?

i'm not sure either. I'd want him to play as long as possible. hopefully he gets a hat-trick of hat-tricks tonight and is a one man show all game long.

[baumerman77]

I doubt he plays for the Canucks but it is very likely that he will play for the Comets.

[Nicklas Bo Hunter]

Would rather have Burr and Richardson on the roster before Virt and Baer.

sorry forgot about burrows. lol that depth is pretty good.

[Scorevat]

Anyone know if/where we can watch game 7?

[Ossi Vaananen]

Anyone know if/where we can watch game 7?

Careful, Elvis will lose his bowels if you imply you don't have Shaw or live outside of BC.

[elvis15]

Careful, Elvis will lose his bowels if you imply you don't have Shaw or live outside of BC.

Seriously? Glad you could be of help to the guy.

But if it's not on Shaw I'd suggest checking if the WHL streams the games. I know the AHL does but haven't looked for the WHL/CHL. If it's on Shaw but you don't have that channel, maybe a pub around you might and would put it on for you (or a friend's house, etc.).

EDIT: a quick Google search seems to have solved the mystery. Shaw has their WHL playoffs broadcast schedule online for easy access, and it looks like today's game is Kootenay vs Calgary at 7pm.

http://whl.ca/article/2015-whl-playoffs-on-shaw-round-1-schedule-

If you notice on the right it also has options for how to watch/listen to the game. There are links to radio and the WHL's Neulion streaming service (same service the AHL uses I think) if you don't have Shaw to watch it on TV.

But that's cool, Ossi, I appreciate that you're concerned about my bowels.

Edited April 6, 2015 by elvis15

[JeremyCuddles]

In hindsight knowing how well Ekblad has played, 100% agree. But considering we were reportedly looking to take Reinhart who hasn't had an amazing year either I'm not sure we didn't luck out when Florida rejected our offer (which was reported as 6th+24th+Tanev+Shinkaruk). That would've decimated our pipeline for a good-but-not-elite prospect.

No where has it ever been stated Benning made this offer except from fans and the idiots on TSN. Pretty sure even Benning said Shink was never dangled for that pick.

[Canucks Curse]

Ekblad is a great pick

But long term shink+virt+mcaan+Tanev > Ekblad

[Guest Dasein]

While scoring-only stats are nice to overview, I think you have to look at it this way with 17-18yo players with regards to NHL effectiveness: "When he's not trying to score, he's ___________." If the blank is 'watching his team getting scored on' or 'getting physically dominated' or 'waiting up-ice to get the puck again', then there would be a legit concern with his development. But that doesn't describe Virtanen.

To that end we've seen an improvement in his playmaking skills, his attention to defense, particularly in a shut-down role, and of course his size and strength, to the point of bullying everyone on the ice. We cannot confirm this with stats alone, but my feeling is that his development path right now is set to get him into the NHL in an effective two-way role sooner rather than later. Pretty much like how it was done with Horvat, who had a defensive acumen and size but had to work on his speed. Virtanen has the speed, so what did he focus on? His defensive acumen.

I think we're gradually starting to figure out why a player like, for instance, Coho could not transfer his amazing junior numbers to the NHL and why you have to be an elite scorer at the NHL level to make up for a total lack of defense, and even then you're still going to need defense to stick in the NHL. Coho went from CHL player of the year to buyout candidate.

Further to that, even AHL-level offensive numbers are meaningless. Was there 'great concern' when Horvat went pointless in his 5 AHL games? To the fans, yes, but to management and scouts, no. Horvat's a 19-20yr old NHL level beast now while an AHL all-star like Vey is still finding his way at age 24.

I'm not sure if Virtanen is eligible for AHL time or not after his Hitmen season is done, but it should be interesting to see where Benning/Linden put him at that point. Like Horvat, I doubt he'll need much AHL time at all.

The 3rd option, or "floating around" is something that Jake does - which is a concern

CoHo did transfer his numbers to the NHL - he have a great rookie season, followed it up with another successful campaign then scored 20 goals last season before he fell off the map completely this year. Of course he needs to work on his overall game, but CoHo's offense was still on the up trend until this season

No one was concerned that Horvat went pointless in the AHL - he wasn't supposed to be a point producer. I wanted him to be the go-to guy rather than 4C in Vancouver because I thought it would be better for him to have a chance at a Memorial Cup and WJC gold, but Horvat clearly turned out to be a great player for us when Benning and Desjardins kept him. Even so, scoring wasn't a big concern with Bo because he wasn't supposed to score

Virtanen is not like Horvat - his defensive game and shift-by-shift consistency needs a lot of work. He will spend some time in the AHL unlike Bo

[TOMapleLaughs]

The 3rd option, or "floating around" is something that Jake does - which is a concern

CoHo did transfer his numbers to the NHL - he have a great rookie season, followed it up with another successful campaign then scored 20 goals last season before he fell off the map completely this year. Of course he needs to work on his overall game, but CoHo's offense was still on the up trend until this season

No one was concerned that Horvat went pointless in the AHL - he wasn't supposed to be a point producer. I wanted him to be the go-to guy rather than 4C in Vancouver because I thought it would be better for him to have a chance at a Memorial Cup and WJC gold, but Horvat clearly turned out to be a great player for us when Benning and Desjardins kept him. Even so, scoring wasn't a big concern with Bo because he wasn't supposed to score

Virtanen is not like Horvat - his defensive game and shift-by-shift consistency needs a lot of work. He will spend some time in the AHL unlike Bo

I disagree. When the team has the puck he at times uses his speed to get an edge up on the play, but the passes rarely arrive. To me this is more a concern. He's being held back.

Billed as a smart, two-way, top-6 center, with 'character', Coho's two-way game never arrived, he's constantly out of position, lazy and his offensive ability peaked upon signing his first big contract. Turns out there are various physical aspects to Coho that hampered his progression to the next level. We were oversold on virtually every aspect of his game. Aaaand we learn.

Of course people were concerned about Horvat's lack of production in the AHL. As well as there was concern about him not going to the WJC. These concerns are irrelevant though as it looks like Benning and Linden knew what was actually best for the player.

As for Virtanen, I remain totally unconcerned about his defensive game, as he's actually performing quite well in that regard, pressuring the puck carrier whenever he can every shift and knocking them on their asses, creating turnovers. If he's a defensive threat as well as an offensive one every shift, then it just seems that there's no real concern to his game at this point.

As the AHL is more for players with some major developmental requirement like speed or strength or lack of defensive acumen, I do not see the need for Virtanen to stay there for long. Esp. when the AHL isn't NHL speed, and Virtanen is.

Then again, perhaps Benning and Linden do have an AHL development plan in mind for him so he can come into the NHL and dominate right away, rather than being brought in slowly like Horvat. I think both plans have merits. Time will tell. I do not believe that anyone here truly knows.

[Outsiders]

Ekblad is a great pick

But long term shink+virt+mcaan+Tanev > Ekblad

true

But the offer was believed to be

6th,Shinkaruk,Tanev

24th was never a part of a deal

No where has it ever been stated Benning made this offer except from fans and the idiots on TSN. Pretty sure even Benning said Shink was never dangled for that pick.

[Guest Dasein]

I disagree. When the team has the puck he at times uses his speed to get an edge up on the play, but the passes rarely arrive. To me this is more a concern. He's being held back.

Billed as a smart, two-way, top-6 center, with 'character', Coho's two-way game never arrived, he's constantly out of position, lazy and his offensive ability peaked upon signing his first big contract. Turns out there are various physical aspects to Coho that hampered his progression to the next level. We were oversold on virtually every aspect of his game. Aaaand we learn.

Fair enough - I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Let's see how he does away from Calgary in Utica, because I think you and I would both trust Green to figure out what's going on - if he looks really good, then he was being "held back" in Calgary, and if he still looks like he's floating, then it's just him needing to develop

CoHo was never called a two-way center - he was always about the offence. No one compared him to Bergeron and O'Reilly when he stepped in - some called him a Stamkos-lite but he was never billed as a strong two-way center like Bo

[Nas19]

We were going to take Reinhart if we got the 1st overall pick. And Reinhart is going to be one hell of a player one day. I'm predicting he will win multiple Selke trophies. He's so smart it's crazy.

[Bure_Pavel]

We were going to take Reinhart if we got the 1st overall pick. And Reinhart is going to be one hell of a player one day. I'm predicting he will win multiple Selke trophies. He's so smart it's crazy.

How is he going to win a selke with horvat winning them all?

[uselessstats]

No where has it ever been stated Benning made this offer except from fans and the idiots on TSN. Pretty sure even Benning said Shink was never dangled for that pick.

It was posted on rumour sites and those names were tossed around by various media members. I'm not going to vouch for their accuracy as I have no idea but that is simply what I had heard at the time. And if you don't go on what was rumoured, what do you base "wishing we'd made the trade" on? Did Benning ever say exactly what he offered or are you just making up your own deal and then wishing it'd actually happened?

Edit: K, Seems two different offers reported with details. Friedman speculated on 6th + Shink + Tanev while Dreger reported 6th + Shink + 24th. Both better than the 4 piece deal that I thought I had heard (maybe I blended the two?) but still not sure I do either for Reinhart alone and def don't do the Tanev deal. For Ekblad yes, but not Reinahart. But YMMV I suppose.

Edited April 6, 2015 by uselessstats

[TOMapleLaughs]

Fair enough - I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Let's see how he does away from Calgary in Utica, because I think you and I would both trust Green to figure out what's going on - if he looks really good, then he was being "held back" in Calgary, and if he still looks like he's floating, then it's just him needing to develop

CoHo was never called a two-way center - he was always about the offence. No one compared him to Bergeron and O'Reilly when he stepped in - some called him a Stamkos-lite but he was never billed as a strong two-way center like Bo

Alright. While he could learn systems in either league, I wonder if it'll be better for him to adapt to NHL speed and game situations right away.

Disagree about Coho's labelling at the time, although this turned out to be overselling him imho: http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=452860

[Scorvat]

Would rather have Virtanen up here around the big boys, travelling and feeling like he's " A part of the team ". He won't be playing in Utica and stuff. So he will practice with us after tonight ( if he's team loses ) and then if we clinch tonight I thought he might get the one game against the oilers to give a guy like Dorsett the night off

If Virtanens team is eliminated he can play for us??? Are u sure??? I would love to watch him play saturday against the Oilers if he can and if we already clinched.

Kennins Horvat Virtanen

Oh boy that would be a sweet line!

[avelanch]

he can play for us OR the comets if calgary is eliminated tomorrow... it's VERY unlikely he does for either one, though.