wellnon Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) I dont want to be a downer on Virtanen but his bottom line is pretty rough to look at. Only two points above a point per game with draft and draft +1 years and has done hardly anything in the ahl. He did have that good month and a bit after coming back from the world juniors last season and the goal streak this season but those are few and far between. I was really happy with the pick at the time but at this point id be happy if he can score 15 goals on a third line peaking with a few 20 goal seasons while using his skating to cause some problems on the forecheck. Yes he doesn't play with offensive line mates or on an offensive team but still for a 6th overall pic those stats are hard to look at. Anyways I hope he proves me wrong and can find a spot in the canucks future top 6 for a lot of years. Edited March 7, 2017 by wellnon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 6 hours ago, HorvatToBaertschi said: That would be the best AHL team we ice filled with our prospects since the golden Manitoba Moose era. Im fine with that. Bieksa Kesler Hansen Burrows Edler Bourdon Schneider Rypien etc.. came into the league with crazy chemistry and it helped them. Exactly right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 5 hours ago, wellnon said: I dont want to be a downer on Virtanen but his bottom line is pretty rough to look at. Only two points above a point per game with draft and draft +1 years and has done hardly anything in the ahl. He did have that good month and a bit after coming back from the world juniors last season and the goal streak this season but those are few and far between. I was really happy with the pick at the time but at this point id be happy if he can score 15 goals on a third line peaking with a few 20 goal seasons while using his skating to cause some problems on the forecheck. Yes he doesn't play with offensive line mates or on an offensive team but still for a 6th overall pic those stats are hard to look at. Anyways I hope he proves me wrong and can find a spot in the canucks future top 6 for a lot of years. Have you watched him play in Utica? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck7635 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I want nothing more out of Virtanen other than for him to use his speed and strength to bulldoze the other team and capitalize on scoring chances when he gets them. If he can get 30 points a season doing that then great. As long as he brings that physical element up front that the Canucks have been lacking since Torres... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 5 hours ago, stawns said: Have you watched him play in Utica? The answer is pretty obvious after reading that post. I tend to totally disregard anyone who begins to analyze Jake's play of the last month based on point totals. All reports out of utica say that jake has been playing great and that he's been snake bitten. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 hours ago, nuck7635 said: I want nothing more out of Virtanen other than for him to use his speed and strength to bulldoze the other team and capitalize on scoring chances when he gets them. If he can get 30 points a season doing that then great. As long as he brings that physical element up front that the Canucks have been lacking since Torres... At some point he'll realize that his speed will actually give him more room to either go to the net or dish the puck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 10 minutes ago, MJDDawg said: At some point he'll realize that his speed will actually give him more room to either go to the net or dish the puck. Also be nice if he learns to vary it. Speed change is HARD to defend against especially if said player is still pretty darn fast at say seven or eight tenths. You come at a defender with good speed at 7/10, do a quick fake and then crank it to 10/10 and you'll blow by a LOT of guys and/or create space for a team mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amitriptyline Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/5/2017 at 11:07 PM, canuckistani said: I'd be happy with a Raffi Torres at this point... At this point I'd be ecstatic if we could get a slightly upgraded Steve Pinizzotto out of him for the 4th line (minus the fighter role) who can stick in the line-up and the NHL. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Really don't know why people can't be patient with this kid. Power Forwards usually take longer to develop and mature into their role. Bertuzzi didn't really hit his stride in the league until he was 25/26. This kid has all the tools, they are teaching him to have a much rounder game for the team. Show him patience and it will pay off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hortankin Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) 4 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said: Really don't know why people can't be patient with this kid. Power Forwards usually take longer to develop and mature into their role. Bertuzzi didn't really hit his stride in the league until he was 25/26. This kid has all the tools, they are teaching him to have a much rounder game for the team. Show him patience and it will pay off. man I hope Crawford comes back here next year.. he would do wonders for our young guys. especially Virtanen Edited March 7, 2017 by Hortankin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 1 minute ago, Hortankin said: man I hope Crawford comes back here next year.. he would do wonders for our young guys. especially Virtanen I was never a fan of Crawford when he was here. Thought his coaching was far too one dimensional and led to predictability. That said, he may have adapted and matured his coaching style in recent years, I haven't observed anyone he's coaching in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said: Really don't know why people can't be patient with this kid. Power Forwards usually take longer to develop and mature into their role. Bertuzzi didn't really hit his stride in the league until he was 25/26. This kid has all the tools, they are teaching him to have a much rounder game for the team. Show him patience and it will pay off. Bertuzzi was more of the exception than the rule for powerforwards. Most powerfowards are usually ready to step into the NHL immediately, since they usually already have the strength and size to do so. Lucic, Dustin Brown, pre-concussion Booth, Iginla, Evander Kane, Landeskog, Kreider...... all were able to be impact players before the age of 24. The whole "power forwards taking longer" is just a myth. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 9 minutes ago, Lancaster said: Bertuzzi was more of the exception than the rule for powerforwards. Most powerfowards are usually ready to step into the NHL immediately, since they usually already have the strength and size to do so. Lucic, Dustin Brown, pre-concussion Booth, Iginla, Evander Kane, Landeskog, Kreider...... all were able to be impact players before the age of 24. The whole "power forwards taking longer" is just a myth. Good thing he's only 20 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, Warhippy said: Good thing he's only 20 Of course. Hypothetically, I'm not writing him off until he's at least 24 Just trying to dispel the whole myth part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, Lancaster said: Of course. Hypothetically, I'm not writing him off until he's at least 24 Just trying to dispel the whole myth part. But he's not meeting Desi Boys mythical 2 ppg in the AHL so he must be a bust now 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 3 minutes ago, Lancaster said: Bertuzzi was more of the exception than the rule for powerforwards. Most powerfowards are usually ready to step into the NHL immediately, since they usually already have the strength and size to do so. Lucic, Dustin Brown, pre-concussion Booth, Iginla, Evander Kane, Landeskog, Kreider...... all were able to be impact players before the age of 24. The whole "power forwards taking longer" is just a myth. Everyone develops at their own pace. Virtanen has the skill set, the management feel he's improving, I think they probably know him far better than any of us do. Even thought some of these guys were showing flashes, they didn't fully hit their stride at 19 or 20. Lucic was about 22 when he really started to perform Brown was about 23 and spent a full season in the AHL Booth was about 24 before he really started to perform, and spent time in College as well as AHL Evander Kane, it could be argued that he's still learning how to be consistent in the NHL and might have been better if he went back to junior for another season Landeskog, definitely productive and grew into his role very quickly in the NHL Kreider, didn't really hit his stride until he turned 23 and spent time in the AHL as well Point is, it sometimes takes these guys to adapt to playing a more mature game. Some of them need more time than others, and Virtanen also lost significant time due to shoulder injury. Virtanen is still only 20, and Green is a very good teacher as we've seen. There is no reason whatsoever, not to give this kid time to develop and mature his game. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 7 minutes ago, Warhippy said: Good thing he's only 20 This, +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 1 minute ago, Warhippy said: But he's not meeting Desi Boys mythical 2 ppg in the AHL so he must be a bust now And, this +1!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeneedLumme Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 2 minutes ago, Lancaster said: Of course. Hypothetically, I'm not writing him off until he's at least 24 Just trying to dispel the whole myth part. I don't think it's a myth. Power forwards are often big jocks with great tools but weak tool kits/hockey IQ. Their success at lower levels is frequently based on overpowering opponents rather than out thinking them. When they get to the professional levels and have to compete with players their own size, it's not surprising that it can take a while for them to figure things out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Just now, WeneedLumme said: I don't think it's a myth. Power forwards are often big jocks with great tools but weak tool kits/hockey IQ. Their success at lower levels is frequently based on overpowering opponents rather than out thinking them. When they get to the professional levels and have to compete with players their own size, it's not surprising that it can take a while for them to figure things out. Usually by age 24. If they don't become impact players by then, they're usually just become grinders like Steve Bernier, Raffi Torres, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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