Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Cocolocci]

Everybody is compare a player with an other one. But what is, if Jake turn in to a player type that have doesn't exist before? Tomas Holmstrom do this with his playing style. Maybe Jake will be a mix of some players and create through this a new player type.

[73 Percent]

Hown did jake play in the second and third.

[Junkyard Dog]

24 minutes ago, Gooseberries said:

Hown did jake play in the second and third.

 

 

Virtanen made a bad blind pass to the point thinking Edler was there when he wasn't and got an okay penalty, tripping a flame who could of gotten a scoring chance. Those were the only blatant mishaps Virtanen had made and they were not all too bad. Virtanen didn't really stand out either, besides his goal.

 

All in all Virtanen was alright throughout the game. Nothing totally horrid and nothing totally awesome about Virtanen's performance, besides his goal.

 

Virtanen was playing with Granny and Baertschi who were having great games and set him up nicely for a goal.

[73 Percent]

21 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

 

 

Virtanen made a bad blind pass to the point thinking Edler was there when he wasn't and got an okay penalty, tripping a flame who could of gotten a scoring chance. Those were the only blatant mishaps Virtanen had made and they were not all too bad. Virtanen didn't really stand out either, besides his goal.

 

All in all Virtanen was alright throughout the game. Nothing totally horrid and nothing totally awesome about Virtanen's performance, besides his goal.

 

Virtanen was playing with Granny and Baertschi who were having great games and set him up nicely for a goal.

Yeah I seen the goal. Hmm I wonder where he stands now. 

[N4ZZY]

5 hours ago, Gooseberries said:

Yeah I seen the goal. Hmm I wonder where he stands now. 

still prefer that he is sent down to the AHL for a few games to work with Green. and give him first line minutes. we need to develop the offensive side of his game. call him after a couple of weeks. 

[73 Percent]

1 minute ago, N4ZZY said:

still prefer that he is sent down to the AHL for a few games to work with Green. and give him first line minutes. we need to develop the offensive side of his game. call him after a couple of weeks. 

Thinking that is fine.  You are entitled to you're own opinion.  What bugs me are posts that rant on about how JV NEEDS top line mins then go on and say that Gaunce between hansen and dorsett would be great for him bec5it worked for horvat.

[Boudrias]

3 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

still prefer that he is sent down to the AHL for a few games to work with Green. and give him first line minutes. we need to develop the offensive side of his game. call him after a couple of weeks. 

Can both Gaunce and Virt make the roster? As much as I want the young prospects in the line up it might make sense to have Virt in Utica for a month. It would give WD a chance to look at Rodin. Gaunce at 4C for ay least 40 games this year would be ideal. If he gets his chance I doubt he sees the AHL again.  

[N4ZZY]

17 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Can both Gaunce and Virt make the roster? As much as I want the young prospects in the line up it might make sense to have Virt in Utica for a month. It would give WD a chance to look at Rodin. Gaunce at 4C for ay least 40 games this year would be ideal. If he gets his chance I doubt he sees the AHL again.  

Are you assuming that Etem makes the team? 

Cause there's a real possibility that he could be on waivers heading to Utica (doubtful he would be claimed, given that this is his third NHL team in as many years). 

I agree with you, though. I think it might be good for Jake to spend some time in the AHL with Green, before earning a call up again to the big club. Might even light a fire underneath him, to not take the NHL for granted. 

Could we have Rodin, Gaunce, and Virt make the big club? Etem on the farm? 

 

 

[the harry]

15 hours ago, Derp... said:

Seems like Virt had his Goalio's for breakfast today. I like him in the high slot with Granlund and Baertschi working the puck around. His goal was a very hard shot from the replay.

Virtanen with those two is a nice skilled third line and would allow to dress a gritty second line:

2: Sutter - Horvat - Hansen

3: Baertschi- Granlund - Virtanen

or more balanced

2: Baertschi - Horvat - Hansen

3: Granlund - Sutter - Virtanen

It looks like these 6 Players will make these two lines in any order with Rodin starting as 13F or as injured one.

 

 

[N4ZZY]

5 hours ago, Gooseberries said:

Thinking that is fine.  You are entitled to you're own opinion.  What bugs me are posts that rant on about how JV NEEDS top line mins then go on and say that Gaunce between hansen and dorsett would be great for him bec5it worked for horvat.

each player develops differently. i remember when Kesler and Burr both developed in that fashion. they were bottom six players and moved their up the roster to earn more offensive opportunities and eventually they did. both carved out pretty good careers if you ask me. especially Burrows. I don't know if there's a right way of handling a prospect. not rushing them would be the first step i think. if jake proves he can play with the big boys. let him play in a role that wouldn't overwhelm him. that could destroy a kids confidence in his own ability. so. going down to the farm wouldn't be a bad move for jake. just increase his confidence so much so that he's ready to play and not simply admire the NHL players he used to grow up watching. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

Didn't have a very good final game which is disappointing but to be honest either did Etem. I thought Gaunce easily outplayed both of them. Virtanen wasn't physical at all and offensively he was shutdown nicely albeit by a much improved Oilers defence.

 

I think he should probably start the season in Utica and will be our first call-up. Give Gaunce the 4th line center spot thanks to Granlund's emergence (pop Granlund on Sutter's wing to start the season following their pre-season chemistry) and honestly between Etem and Virtanen it doesn't really matter who plays on the 4th line wing. Having Virtanen probably gives us more versatility because of his speed and ability to play with Horvat, but Etem is far bigger and stronger for those big matchups against the Pacific teams.

[N4ZZY]

2 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Didn't have a very good final game which is disappointing but to be honest either did Etem. I thought Gaunce easily outplayed both of them. Virtanen wasn't physical at all and offensively he was shutdown nicely albeit by a much improved Oilers defence.

 

I think he should probably start the season in Utica and will be our first call-up. Give Gaunce the 4th line center spot thanks to Granlund's emergence (pop Granlund on Sutter's wing to start the season following their pre-season chemistry) and honestly between Etem and Virtanen it doesn't really matter who plays on the 4th line wing. Having Virtanen probably gives us more versatility because of his speed and ability to play with Horvat, but Etem is far bigger and stronger for those big matchups against the Pacific teams.

get the sense that he knew he was going down to the farm and just had a resigned feeling to his play. i think this might be the best move for him moving forward. allow Green to work with him. 

[Bandwagon38]

23 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

get the sense that he knew he was going down to the farm and just had a resigned feeling to his play. i think this might be the best move for him moving forward. allow Green to work with him. 

Agreed.  Showed no real push tonight.  I don't think he even registered a meaningful hit.  Let Green give him the Gaunce treatment and make him an everyday nhler.

[N4ZZY]

11 minutes ago, Bandwagon38 said:

Agreed.  Showed no real push tonight.  I don't think he even registered a meaningful hit.  Let Green give him the Gaunce treatment and make him an everyday nhler.

yeah. and what it means to be a professional. i think he's still learning what that means honestly. you show up to the rink everyday regardless if you know that your going down to the AHL. you play and you work hard. he didn't seem to do that tonight. and i hope Green instills that understanding in him. you come to the rink to work. and if your not going to do that. then you ain't gonna play. no sense of entitlement. 

[Squamfan]

Bust

[cripplereh]

some players like power forwards take time get over it he will get better!!!

[snizzle_]

1 hour ago, The 5th Line said:

 

Okay stop making excuses for the kid, you have no clue if he knows he is being sent down or not and I highly doubt that is even the case.  Maybe he just had a bad game?  The puck dies on his stick and he doesn't play with any real intensity.   I'm fine with the fact that he may not have all of his skills put together yet but at least show some damn urgency out there.

 

I feel this alot. For a guy who was known to have elite skating and size sure look timid and unaware. Looked better last year. He looks out of shape still; he looks like he's tired after 15-20 seconds. Lot's of work to do.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Meanwhile Nylander scores again and looks like a true top-6 scorer in Toronto...that kid is going to out-shine Marner and Matthews this year for sure.

 

But anyway dealing with Virtanen, I think we've got a scarily similar situation to what Zack Kassian was early on in his career and we have to manage him properly as opposed to what happened to Kassian. We can't be willing to accept Virtanen to become a bottom-6 hitting winger. We have to do everything possible to get Virtanen to score 20-40 goals consistently and be a fast skating, north-south powerforward because he has the toolset to be that guy.

 

I think the best thing for him was obviously to spend all of last year in junior but that didn't happen. Sending him down to Utica for half this season may be the best thing for him. Get him scoring plenty of skilled goals on Utica's top line, let him be that leader on the team and learn how to play the right way, then when injuries strike the Canucks he gets the first call-up, no matter where in the lineup (he can fill it, he's versatile enough).

 

We have to strive to make this kid a star, not just another checking forward, or we've wasted that high pick. Hate to draw another comparison to a completely different player, but look how Nylander was developed. Sure he started playing against men in the Swedish league but Toronto didn't rush him, they sent him to the Marlies where he absolutely dominated the AHL as arguably the best player in the AHL and then, after proving himself there, they drew him into the Leafs lineup where he proved he belonged. Never took a step back, but gradually worked his way up from the SEL to AHL and now NHL. Jake has gone back and forth a bit because of some boneheaded decisions and weak lineups last season, but now we've got plenty of depth up front thanks to the emergence of lots of kids so we need to put first priority into turning Virtanen into a star.

[Bandwagon38]

6 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Meanwhile Nylander scores again and looks like a true top-6 scorer in Toronto...that kid is going to out-shine Marner and Matthews this year for sure.

 

But anyway dealing with Virtanen, I think we've got a scarily similar situation to what Zack Kassian was early on in his career and we have to manage him properly as opposed to what happened to Kassian. We can't be willing to accept Virtanen to become a bottom-6 hitting winger. We have to do everything possible to get Virtanen to score 20-40 goals consistently and be a fast skating, north-south powerforward because he has the toolset to be that guy.

 

I think the best thing for him was obviously to spend all of last year in junior but that didn't happen. Sending him down to Utica for half this season may be the best thing for him. Get him scoring plenty of skilled goals on Utica's top line, let him be that leader on the team and learn how to play the right way, then when injuries strike the Canucks he gets the first call-up, no matter where in the lineup (he can fill it, he's versatile enough).

 

We have to strive to make this kid a star, not just another checking forward, or we've wasted that high pick. Hate to draw another comparison to a completely different player, but look how Nylander was developed. Sure he started playing against men in the Swedish league but Toronto didn't rush him, they sent him to the Marlies where he absolutely dominated the AHL as arguably the best player in the AHL and then, after proving himself there, they drew him into the Leafs lineup where he proved he belonged. Never took a step back, but gradually worked his way up from the SEL to AHL and now NHL. Jake has gone back and forth a bit because of some boneheaded decisions and weak lineups last season, but now we've got plenty of depth up front thanks to the emergence of lots of kids so we need to put first priority into turning Virtanen into a star.

Yeah

[MJDDawg]

Outside of the usual "power forwards take longer to develop", what concerns me about Jake is that he continues to show a lot of what I saw him do in the WHL in Calgary and the WJC's. Unlike a kid like Matt Tkachuk who's never been the biggest, fastest or strongest kid growing up but who had a strong work ethic and learned how to battle, because of his whole package of size, speed and skill, Virtanen was always the most talented, biggest and fastest player and I think things came much easier to him. As a result, he just doesn't seem to show the intensity and work habits he needs to show every day whereas a kid like Tkachuk has developed those habits and mindset over a long period just to get to this point.

 

I think Virt needs more than a few games with Utica and help from a coach like Travis to try to bring that work ethic and intensity out on a regular basis. It's really disturbing to see that a kid who knows he only has two games to show the coaches he belongs come out and look so flat.

 

Bottom line is if we don't make sure Jake gets developed properly in the minors, then the risk that he becomes another Kassian becomes more realistic. I don't know how long that'll take, but I believe for his longer term development, learning to be a pro in the minors however long it takes will be best for him and the team. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2016 by MJDDawg