Tiger-Hearted Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 3 hours ago, BCNate said: I really like the way Virtanen's game is coming along. I get that he hasn't put up big numbers, and still has inconsistencies in his game, but he has been one of the Canucks best players for a couple of games recently. He has always had the ability to show flashes of his potential, but those flashes are coming more often, and more sustained. His speed, power and strength coming down the wing and cutting to the net is going to be his bread and butter move. I believe he will get significantly more ice time next year with some PP time and put up 30-35 points (20-25 this year). In two years time he will be in the top 6 and putting up some solid numbers. I do believe that in his prime he will put up multiple 50-60 point seasons. I know some people may disagree with this harassment, which is fair, but I do think that everyone would agree that his outlook now is much more positive that it was at the start of the year. I totally agree. Jake needs to be put in a position where he can utilize his strengths and succeed. Defensive play from forwards is no different than developing defensemen - both take time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpn1 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Aside from McDavid, who in the NHL is faster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 3 hours ago, dpn1 said: Aside from McDavid, who in the NHL is faster? Drouin and Larkin are burners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 9 hours ago, dpn1 said: Aside from McDavid, who in the NHL is faster? Cogliano and Hansen come to mind, though both are getting on in years now, so may not be as fast anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Kind of old (1 month ago), Virtanen lost a friend to suicide. Is it a coincidence that he's playing a bit better and maturing too? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 1 minute ago, Dazzle said: Kind of old (1 month ago), Virtanen lost a friend to suicide. Is it a coincidence that he's playing a bit better and maturing too? He should stop clubbing though. Not a good look during the regular season. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said: He should stop clubbing though. Not a good look during the regular season. I clubbed a lot during his phase. Practically every weekend I was drinking A LOT. I'm not an NHL player of course, but I can kinda understand where he's coming from. That phase is in my rear view mirrors though - and eventually, I think he'll get over it too. I do agree that he needs to show that he's maturing, especially with how bad the team is playing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 6 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said: He should stop clubbing though. Not a good look during the regular season. Jake’s off ice immaturity seems to be stopped. He’s in great shape, and flying. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammertime Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, dpn1 said: Aside from McDavid, who in the NHL is faster? I think MacKinnon and Athanasiou are pretty quick Edited February 25, 2018 by hammertime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Angry Goose Posted February 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) People don’t seem to rant about his low hockey IQ lately. Edited February 26, 2018 by SILLY GOOSE 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) You can't teach speed but hopefully you can teach puck handling and shooting. If he continues to improve those two facets of his game then he'll be deadly. Edited February 26, 2018 by Tre Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 6 hours ago, The 5th Line said: Just because a player has a lower hockey iq than most, doesn't mean they can't play good, learn the nhl game and become successful players. They(me) compare his iq with other nhl players, it's not like they think he is as smart as an atom hockey player or something. If a player is playing good of course there will be.less negativity, I would of thought that was obvious No what is obvious is that his sense for the game is quite good and all the criticism was just short sighted ignorance 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 1 hour ago, SILLY GOOSE said: No what is obvious is that his sense for the game is quite good and all the criticism was just short sighted ignorance I think Jake struggled with processing the game fast enough, because he was (sorry to say) fat, and out of shape before. He would get gassed, and be too tired to really think or keep up. Now he's in great shape, so we're seeing him doing a lot better. He's not tired, and can keep up mentally. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntrix Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I'll take a rain check on the I told you so's until Jake becomes anything more than a bottom 6 energy player. Being flashy is one thing, producing consistently is another. I remember posters getting choked at someone throwing out the Raffi Torres comparison post-2014 draft. It's now 2018 and I'm sure people would give an arm and a leg for that to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 1 hour ago, guntrix said: I remember posters getting choked at someone throwing out the Raffi Torres comparison post-2014 draft. It's now 2018 and I'm sure people would give an arm and a leg for that to happen. I think this was because many posters forgot how good Torres was for a few years. He scored well over 20 goals in at least one year I believe. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 2 minutes ago, -AJ- said: I think this was because many posters forgot how good Torres was for a few years. He scored well over 20 goals in at least one year I believe. Raffia was a top five pick. The guy was a game changer. Mean too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKnight Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 On 26/02/2018 at 6:48 AM, Tre Mac said: You can't teach speed but hopefully you can teach puck handling and shooting. If he continues to improve those two facets of his game then he'll be deadly. I just wish he would be a little more mean on the ice. That might happen once we get a tougher team. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 (edited) 9 minutes ago, KKnight said: I just wish he would be a little more mean on the ice. That might happen once we get a tougher team. If Leipsic is the agitator he is supposed to be, than Jake will need to answer, because the play will get very nasty for sure. We will see which of our guys have the internal toughness to play in games like that, or whether they shy away. These next 20 games are going to show us a lot about our guys, and which ones have the needed (internal) toughness to really compete. Edited February 27, 2018 by Alflives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken. Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 10 minutes ago, KKnight said: I just wish he would be a little more mean on the ice. That might happen once we get a tougher team. I agree I think since getting suspended for his hit on Roman Polak has made him a bit timid. pretty sure he still has that mean streak in him (albeit the shoulder injury worries) and it will come out in games that matter. right now he needs to focus on improving his all round skill game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86Viking Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 It has been nice to see Jake get more ice time in recent games. I was also impressed that even tho he took 3 penalties Green still put him out their. That was something that when he started to get penalties I think most of us expected Jake to sit on the bench. That is what I want to see Green do to all of our younger players, no matter if they take a bad penalty or turn the puck over...keep putting them out their, our veterans make mistakes, the younger guys likely will make more of them but they need to learn from that by playing more and getting in those situations again and not making that mistake the next time around. I am a bit puzzled by Virtanen's shot. He rang 1 off the post I know, but he seems to miss the net quite a bit or tends to shoot it right into the center of the goalie, no chance of it going or or causing a rebound. Was he not more of a pure sniper with a wicked shot back in Junior? Also Jake, keep those wheels moving and always cut hard to the net when you are driving around a defender. You won't always score, but it will create a lot of PP opportunities as D will slash/hook or trip you to stop the scoring chance from happening. Heck you might even get the odd Penalty Shot!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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