Diamonds Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 3 hours ago, Locke Lamora said: Guys, I watched 2 of 3 groups (the more veteran groups) practice at Rogers Arena today. Jake looked pretty good. And I'd say his fitness probably fell into the middle of the pack based on some nasty line rushes coach Green set up at the end of practice. Scrimmaging tomorrow apparently. That will help illuminate whether or not Jake has grasped some of the "subtleties" of the game of hockey. His endurance, while not close to the elite on the team (based on today, Sedins, Stecher, Biega, some others headed this group) it looked to be much better. Despite his lighter weight, he still looks big out there. Thanks for sharing! For Jake to be middle of the pack for fitness is a huge improvement and means he has been working on his cardio over the summer. Definitely a step in the right direction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N4ZZY Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 4 hours ago, Diamonds said: Thanks for sharing! For Jake to be middle of the pack for fitness is a huge improvement and means he has been working on his cardio over the summer. Definitely a step in the right direction. hopefully, he understands what it takes to be tip top fitness and not simply middle of the pack. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyHatnDart Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 4 hours ago, N4ZZY said: hopefully, he understands what it takes to be tip top fitness and not simply middle of the pack. Yep. But there's always gotta be someone coming first and someone coming last. Middle of the pack is definitely an improvement... I'll take it over this time last year that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rob_Zepp Posted September 14, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 14, 2017 5 hours ago, N4ZZY said: hopefully, he understands what it takes to be tip top fitness and not simply middle of the pack. I am not sure that is entirely fair as fitness just isn't about bag skating. He may be middle of that pack but perhaps on squats, hammering people into the boards, having someone's face hit his fist by accident a few times and so forth he may be much higher on the scale. For a big guy like Virtanen to be middle of the pack for such drills is more impressive than, say, a Jordan Subban doing it - for guys like Subban they had better be leading it or they might as well say to the coaches "I didn't really try this summer". 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyoung Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 2 hours ago, Rob_Zepp said: I am not sure that is entirely fair as fitness just isn't about bag skating. He may be middle of that pack but perhaps on squats, hammering people into the boards, having someone's face hit his fist by accident a few times and so forth he may be much higher on the scale. For a big guy like Virtanen to be middle of the pack for such drills is more impressive than, say, a Jordan Subban doing it - for guys like Subban they had better be leading it or they might as well say to the coaches "I didn't really try this summer". Thats exactly it. I'm hoping there are some underlying reasons for Subbans rough go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Noble 6 Posted September 14, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 14, 2017 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dpn1 Posted September 14, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 14, 2017 Listening to 1040 and they were saying Jake was one of the most noticeable during the game in practice today. Sounds promising. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush17 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 49 minutes ago, Horvat is a Boss said: 26 minutes ago, dpn1 said: Listening to 1040 and they were saying Jake was one of the most noticeable during the game in practice today. Sounds promising. looks like virtanen has shown up. i like that he and Juolevi are showing some passion. good for olli to know you got a guy on ur team who can punish opposing d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNucks1 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 56 minutes ago, Horvat is a Boss said: you know if theres any videos? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 1 hour ago, TNucks1 said: you know if theres any videos? https://www.facebook.com/Canucks/videos/10155645592637145/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble 6 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpn1 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 56 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said: https://www.facebook.com/Canucks/videos/10155645592637145/ Thanks for posting the video. You could even pick out the numbers and figure out who was on the ice. Looked like a line of Granny, Baer and Virts. Fun to watch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blömqvist Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Virtanen looked really good today. I was driving to the rink this morning and the guys on Sportsnet 650 were saying that, based off a recent interview, Virtanen has matured as a hockey player (in comparison to last year) and they mentioned that he is looking to earn and take a spot on the starting lineup rather than be given one. As Ryan Biech said, Virtanen and Demko were the first guys out into the ice after it was zambonied, but the ice crew yelled at them to get off hahaha! Quite the moment, but it's the little things that show how far he has come. During the scrimmmage he was fast and skating hard. Yes, it was just a scrimmage but he was throwing his weight around and letting everyone in the arena know that he's back in Vancouver. He put the body on a couple of guys he lined up on the forecheck, but his most noticeable hit was on Juolevi. It was a hard hit with a little extra something to put Juolevi onto the ice. Chirping ensued. This is the Jake Virtanen that fans wanted. Offensively, things were very scrambly and there wasn't much of anything for anyone, but he did use his feet to get open in the high slot, receive a pass, and let go of a wrister for a good scoring opportunity. He was skating alongside Baertschi and Granlund (I personally would like to see Baertschi with Horvat, but that prolly goes into a different thread altogether). It's only day 2 of training camp, but I think Jake is earning and taking one of the very few winger spots. His fitness is up, he's skating fast and hard, he looks like he's in good position in the defensive zone, and he's playing physical. He does have that shot and offensive pedigree as well, but whichever role the coach gives him he'll make the most of it. Besides, other than the Sedins since when does Vancouver ever have set lines for full seasons? If he makes the team, great!! He'll get an opportunity to be put in a scoring role sometime as long as he continues to work hard and play his game. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocolocci Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 1 hour ago, Blömqvist said: [...] During the scrimmmage he was fast and skating hard. Yes, it was just a scrimmage but he was throwing his weight around and letting everyone in the arena know that he's back in Vancouver. He put the body on a couple of guys he lined up on the forecheck, but his most noticeable hit was on Juolevi. It was a hard hit with a little extra something to put Juolevi onto the ice. Chirping ensued. This is the Jake Virtanen that fans wanted. [...] You need to show up in training and especially in scrimmages. Everything starts there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bigturk8 Posted September 15, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 15, 2017 Green’s NHL experiences can help Virtanen flourish with Canucks 0:0 Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter understood the importance of an intense skate, but new coach Travis Green really didn't think it was that bad. Iain MacIntyreSeptember 15, 2017, 4:51 PM 24 Travis Green was going to be a star. Anyone who remembers him piling up points for the Spokane Chiefs at the end of the 1980s would have sworn it. Green was a strong, rangy centre. Besides his size, the boy from Castlegar, B.C., had terrific hands and enough toughness to survive. It was only Green’s average skating that dropped him to the second round of the NHL draft in 1989, when the New York Islanders chose him 23rd overall — two picks after the first round in the “original” 21-team league. That season, when he was 18, Green had 51 goals and 102 points in 72 games. The next season, 1989-90, Green amassed 60 goals and 128 points. Then he went off to conquer the NHL. Except he didn’t. Despite all that offensive talent, Green spent the next two and a half seasons in the American Hockey League, unable to crack a mediocre Islanders’ lineup. And when he finally made the NHL, it wasn’t as an offensive dynamo but as a dependable, two-way centre who spent most of his career doing little things well somewhere in the middle of the lineup. Green changed NHL teams six times. But by the time he finished with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2007, Green had logged 14 seasons and 970 games. He finished with 455 points, eclipsing 35 points only once in his last eight years. It was a great career, but not the one for which Green was projected when he was drafted. As a young pro, he had to adapt or perish. Eventually, he flourished. Green’s NHL tale is hardly unique, but it’s vitally important these days when talking about the trajectory of Vancouver Canuck sixth-overall draft pick Jake Virtanen. And there is ceaseless talk about Virtanen. The kid from Abbotsford played in the NHL at 19, then played his way into the AHL at 20. He spent the final 65 games of last season in upstate New York, where Virtanen, a fast power forward who is supposed to be a scorer, managed only nine goals and 19 points. This meagre total was greeted largely with alarm in Vancouver. In choosing Virtanen sixth in the 2014 draft, Canucks general manager Jim Benning passed on William Nylander (Maple Leafs), Nick Ehlers (Winnipeg Jets), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings), Robby Fabbri (St. Louis Blues) and David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins). The other bruising power forward near the top of that draft, Nick Ritchie, went 10th to the Anaheim Ducks. Compared to these players, Virtanen has been a disappointment so far. Like Green, Virtanen may have to adapt. The advantage he has is that Green, who mentored Virtanen last season in Utica, is now his coach with the Canucks as the 21-year-old tries to regain entry to the NHL. As much as anyone can, Green understands what Virtanen is going through. “Thinking you’re ready for the league (and) you’re not,” Green says of his own mindset as a young player. “Looking back, you weren’t even close. I know as a young guy, I thought I was ready for the league right away. And looking back, if I would have played earlier, I’d have never played in the NHL.” This is the over-riding message Green has been preaching to Virtanen. Learn the details of the game. Eat right, sleep right, train right, and be prepared. And don’t worry about trying to be a star; start with just trying to be an NHL player. “When I was in Utica, he sat down with me every other day,” Virtanen says. “He talked to me lots. I heard a lot of stories about when he played. “Being sent down there and learning from him, I think that was good for me. It was kind of similar to my situation, really. I learned a lot from him. I think that has transferred over in camp so far. I’ve had really good focus, a new mindset coming into camp. The goal is to make the team. Whatever it takes.” Truly, the best thing Virtanen has going for him is Green, who agreed that his experiences as a player helps his relationship with Virtanen. This is a player the Canucks’ must develop. Whether Virtanen turns into the brawny 30-goal scorer Benning hoped for, or develops into a third-line player who contributes 15 goals, kills penalties and provides a physical presence, no NHL team can afford to miss entirely on a sixth-overall pick. Former coach Willie Desjardins had thinly-veiled criticism of Virtanen’s conditioning last fall. He reported to training camp at 229 pounds, which shouldn’t have surprised the Canucks because he trained under their watch all summer. But he also spent that summer in downtown Vancouver. This summer, Virtanen lived close to home in the Fraser Valley. He hired a personal trainer and worked out in Chilliwack, where the real excitement happens only when the sweet corn comes in. Virtanen is down to 215 pounds. He looks noticeably leaner and has been quick on his skates this week. He made a couple of strong moves to the net with the puck during the only scrimmage of training camp, on Thursday. “Some guys on our team, they’re pretty skinny,” he says. “And some guys like me, I can just walk by a hotdog stand and gain five pounds. It’s really just diet and working out. You learn your body when you get older. When I was 18 or 19, I was like: ‘I’m still young, I’ll burn it off (whatever I eat), no problem.’” Sounds like a sportswriter, except for the young part. “Really, when I was growing up, I was always the go-to guy,” he says. “(Hockey) was easy for me. And then I had that adversity and it was different for me. I’d never been through that before. “Being sent down wasn’t the worst thing. I got lots of minutes and learned from a great coach.” Who knows exactly what Virtanen is going through.http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/greens-nhl-experience-can-help-virtanen-flourish-canucks/ Sorry for the wonky formatting. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hypocritical Cranium Posted September 16, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 16, 2017 I met Jake at Chopped Leaf the other day. Had a good chat with him. No one there knew who he was so it was real relaxed. Asked him about the coaching change in Vancouver. He liked Willie (being PC maybe) and really enjoys Travis. He was happy about his training. He said he worked really hard on his weight and strength. One thing I noticed, he was really thick. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and was a big dude. I have met a few players over the years and none had a build like Jake. Jake just isn't cut yet, but he looks like he is 'farmer strong'. He had a very healthy salad. Driving a beautiful black SRT Challenger. I think he appreciated that no one really recognized him and he could sit and have his salad in peace while texting and surfing on his phone. Shook my hand a few times during the chat. I hope the dude crushes it this year. 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-23 Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Well deserved goal for Virt tonight. He was finishing his checks and playing really well. Looked like he got some extra minutes towards the end of the game! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Jake Virtanen's first preseason game indicates he is going to make it a hard decision not to keep him in the NHL. He hit, he skated and he scored. Green rewarded him with a lot of 3 on 3 overtime ice-time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex425 Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 He looked great today. Looked like he was trying way harder and making good decisions. I know hockey iq is "unteachable" but he actually looked like he was making smarter plays, reading the play better and covering for defenseman when they stepped up. His weight loss + Effort level is showing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 46 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said: Jake Virtanen's first preseason game indicates he is going to make it a hard decision not to keep him in the NHL. He hit, he skated and he scored. Green rewarded him with a lot of 3 on 3 overtime ice-time. Proclamations of falling skies may have been premature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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