Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Mathew Barzal]

1 hour ago, TGT68 said:

So does Ferland become the linemate and mold for Jake?  

I hope Virtanen at least takes notes on Ferlands tenacity.

 

I for one, am extremely excited to potentially see Virtanen in the playoffs. I think he's the kind of player who will find that extra gear when the whistles get put away.

[73 Percent]

11 minutes ago, Mathew Barzal said:

I hope Virtanen at least takes notes on Ferlands tenacity.

 

I for one, am extremely excited to potentially see Virtanen in the playoffs. I think he's the kind of player who will find that extra gear when the whistles get put away.

We had no one on our team to set an example for jakes play. Now green can point to Ferland and say "do that".

[Rob_Zepp]

7 minutes ago, 73 Percent said:

We had no one on our team to set an example for jakes play. Now green can point to Ferland and say "do that".

Actually, JT Miller is what a power forward should be and Ferland is a good player but Miller is a more gifted, faster and heavier guy when he is at his best....and Jake could be as good or better than both if he is willing to take that next step of commitment.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Rob_Zepp said:

Actually, JT Miller is what a power forward should be and Ferland is a good player but Miller is a more gifted, faster and heavier guy when he is at his best....and Jake could be as good or better than both if he is willing to take that next step of commitment.

Yup.  Jake has the ability to be a very effective player.  His ceiling is why (IMO) JB drafted him.  

[Borvat]

24 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said:

Actually, JT Miller is what a power forward should be and Ferland is a good player but Miller is a more gifted, faster and heavier guy when he is at his best....and Jake could be as good or better than both if he is willing to take that next step of commitment.

This is why I don't want them to move Jake.  It's too early to consider him at his ceiling with his skill set - if it all came together it would be nice to see him still here.

[Angry Goose]

15 minutes ago, Borvat said:

This is why I don't want them to move Jake.  It's too early to consider him at his ceiling with his skill set - if it all came together it would be nice to see him still here.

Yep, and he's shown progress which is important.  

 

As far as the team goes, I said this in the Ferkland signing thread, physicality is like scoring- depth is good.  Expecting 1 or 2 guys to chase hits is not the way to bring that element to your team game

[Mathew Barzal]

1 hour ago, Rob_Zepp said:

Actually, JT Miller is what a power forward should be and Ferland is a good player but Miller is a more gifted, faster and heavier guy when he is at his best....and Jake could be as good or better than both if he is willing to take that next step of commitment.

I'm not so sure. Miller is more of a play maker with a big body so he can shield the puck and take punishment along the boards ala Henrik Sedin (poor comparison, but just to give an idea of what I'm trying to say). I don't think he's necessarily tough to play against though. I think Virtanen's traits will translate better to Ferland's play-style, which is essentially being a complimentary winger who finishes plays and makes life difficult for the opposition. I find it hard to see Virtanen ever thinking the game as well as Miller does, but he can influence the game in other ways.

[canuckledraggin]

17 minutes ago, SILLY GOOSE said:

Yep, and he's shown progress which is important.  

 

As far as the team goes, I said this in the Ferkland signing thread, physicality is like scoring- depth is good.  Expecting 1 or 2 guys to chase hits is not the way to bring that element to your team game

 

35 minutes ago, Borvat said:

This is why I don't want them to move Jake.  It's too early to consider him at his ceiling with his skill set - if it all came together it would be nice to see him still here.

There's really no reason to think about moving on from Virtanen at this point. He's been taking baby steps with his progression since turning pro, which isn't ideal, but the area he's most improved on are awareness and positioning. His physical tools are undeniable and his conditioning and endurance, which were in question a couple years ago, have also improved.

 

The new additions of Miller and Ferland will be perfect examples to Jake for the way he needs to play to take yet another step towards his development. At 1.25 million he is a bargain player. The Canucks aren't in cap trouble and likely won't be until we need to sign Petey in 2 years. There is no risk in giving JV more time to develop. He should definitely not be considered a sweetener in a trade to shed cap, that the Canucks just don't need yet.

[Alflives]

Just now, canuckledraggin said:

 

There's really no reason to think about moving on from Virtanen at this point. He's been taking baby steps with his progression since turning pro, which isn't ideal, but the area he's most improved on are awareness and positioning. His physical tools are undeniable and his conditioning and endurance, which were in question a couple years ago, have also improved.

 

The new additions of Miller and Ferland will be perfect examples to Jake for the way he needs to play to take yet another step towards his development. At 1.25 million he is a bargain player. The Canucks aren't in cap trouble and likely won't be until we need to sign Petey in 2 years. There is no risk in giving JV more time to develop. He should definitely not be considered a sweetener in a trade to shed cap, that the Canucks just don't need yet.

I could only see Jake moving in a trade to get Risto.  Tanev plus Jake for Risto kind of thing.  

[canuckledraggin]

5 minutes ago, Alflives said:

I could only see Jake moving in a trade to get Risto.  Tanev plus Jake for Risto kind of thing.  

I would pull the trigger on that deal, but I think they want to hang onto Tanev to back up Hughes. Hughes is such a risk taker that he needs a shutdown guy to back him up and Tanev is the only guy on the right side that fits that bill. Risto has huge offensive upside, but he isn't nearly as responsible defensively. Unless they want to be the Islanders of 2 years ago and try to outscore their defensive problems, I'd rather be the Islanders of last season and have their defensemen actually play defense.

[TGT68]

1 hour ago, Mathew Barzal said:

I'm not so sure. Miller is more of a play maker with a big body so he can shield the puck and take punishment along the boards ala Henrik Sedin (poor comparison, but just to give an idea of what I'm trying to say). I don't think he's necessarily tough to play against though. I think Virtanen's traits will translate better to Ferland's play-style, which is essentially being a complimentary winger who finishes plays and makes life difficult for the opposition. I find it hard to see Virtanen ever thinking the game as well as Miller does, but he can influence the game in other ways.

Complimentary?  I was thinking

 

Ferland AG JV18.

 

Punishment, puck separation and finish.  

[Rob_Zepp]

2 hours ago, Mathew Barzal said:

I'm not so sure. Miller is more of a play maker with a big body so he can shield the puck and take punishment along the boards ala Henrik Sedin (poor comparison, but just to give an idea of what I'm trying to say). I don't think he's necessarily tough to play against though. I think Virtanen's traits will translate better to Ferland's play-style, which is essentially being a complimentary winger who finishes plays and makes life difficult for the opposition. I find it hard to see Virtanen ever thinking the game as well as Miller does, but he can influence the game in other ways.

Miller was a wrecking ball at times with NYR and then assumed a different role with the Bolts though he moved up/down lineup.   I think he is incredibly hard to play against and his underlying stats support that.   Watch some replays of his hits and goals versus his assists (agreed he is a great playmaker) and see if you don't alter your perspective at least a wee bit.

[komodo0921]

55 minutes ago, TGT68 said:

Complimentary?  I was thinking

 

Ferland AG JV18.

 

Punishment, puck separation and finish.  

I think Ferland slots on the top six; at least for the start.

They should set the tone for anyone who wants to bully Petey right away.

A hope of mine is that a little of Ferlands game begins to emerge in Viranens.

I don't think he'll be a heavyweight champion by any stretch, but seeing Jake show up on a nightly basis and play the rough, sandpaper type game that got him drafted would be a big step in the right direction.

Having Ferland behind him could bring out more nastiness.

[Captain Canuck #12]

5 minutes ago, komodo0921 said:

I think Ferland slots on the top six; at least for the start.

They should set the tone for anyone who wants to bully Petey right away.

A hope of mine is that a little of Ferlands game begins to emerge in Viranens.

I don't think he'll be a heavyweight champion by any stretch, but seeing Jake show up on a nightly basis and play the rough, sandpaper type game that got him drafted would be a big step in the right direction.

Having Ferland behind him could bring out more nastiness.

I'm pretty sure -- or at least I'm hoping -- that if Virtanen is sitting on the bench watching Ferland & Miller using their bodies to crush opponets on a regular basis, that he's going to be shamed into starting to do more of this himself.  Especially considering that he's even heavier and probably even faster than either of them.

[JeremyCuddles]

7 minutes ago, Captain Canuck #12 said:

I'm pretty sure -- or at least I'm hoping -- that if Virtanen is sitting on the bench watching Ferland & Miller using their bodies to crush opponets on a regular basis, that he's going to be shamed into starting to do more of this himself.  Especially considering that he's even heavier and probably even faster than either of them.

Jake, shamed into hitting? What the hell does that make the rest of the team that use their bodies even less than he does? On top of him out scoring all the other bottom 6ers. He was 2nd on the team in hits, there was a 50 hit gap between him and the next highest forward. We ever gonna give Jake any sort of respect on here or just hate on him cause he's not Bertuzzi despite that NEVER being apart of his game?

[TGT68]

1 hour ago, Captain Canuck #12 said:

I'm pretty sure -- or at least I'm hoping -- that if Virtanen is sitting on the bench watching Ferland & Miller using their bodies to crush opponets on a regular basis, that he's going to be shamed into starting to do more of this himself.  Especially considering that he's even heavier and probably even faster than either of them.

I just think Jake is able to contribute to physical play but not be the initiative and sole force.  He needs to be part of a physical group.  Thus think Ferland needs to play with Jake.  

 

Anyway I see Miller with Brock and Petey.

 

Then we have Bo, Pearson, Leivo, Ferland, Virtanen, Baertchi and Gaudette fighting for spots in the Middle 6.  

 

Then we still have Sutter, Beagle, Motte, Schaller, eventually Roussell and god forbid Ericksson amd then the challenging youngsters.  

 

We do need to move some bodies out to some team lacking NHL depth.  

Edmonton air Arizona?  Sutter would look nice in the desert for a 5th rounder.  Lol.  

 

 

[Captain Canuck #12]

At 226 lbs, with his speed, Jake should be one of the deadliest hitters in the league.  It's a lethal weapon that he should be able to use more for his team's benefit.  The thing that keeps him from doing it as much as he should is the fact that it upsets the other teams' tough guys and they want to fight him, which is not part of his nature.  Hopefully, aside from being shamed into hitting more, all the hitting that the other players will be doing on this team will be enough to whip him into a frenzy so that he just hits and doesn't worry about the repercussions.  This is what happens every year in the playoffs, even to some of the meekest players, and is why I really hope they keep Jake around long enough to see him in at least one playoff season (not to mention Tryamkin in the future)!

[D-Money]

Jake layed off the hitting once he started getting shoulder injuries. He's susceptible to them going forward.

 

With the numerous players added with both more grit and skill, Virtanen might be a little redundant. It would not surprise me to see him traded...perhaps as the sweetener for someone to take Eriksson off our hands.

[Alflives]

26 minutes ago, D-Money said:

Jake layed off the hitting once he started getting shoulder injuries. He's susceptible to them going forward.

 

With the numerous players added with both more grit and skill, Virtanen might be a little redundant. It would not surprise me to see him traded...perhaps as the sweetener for someone to take Eriksson off our hands.

Jake was set back a lot in his development by a foolish coach, Willie D.  Willie D publicly chastised Jake for a big hit in Toronto.  For sure Willie D was coaching Jake the wrong way.  Green had to fix all Willie D’s problems.  That took two years.  Now Jake is ready to fly! 

[Boudrias]

14 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Jake was set back a lot in his development by a foolish coach, Willie D.  Willie D publicly chastised Jake for a big hit in Toronto.  For sure Willie D was coaching Jake the wrong way.  Green had to fix all Willie D’s problems.  That took two years.  Now Jake is ready to fly! 

Sorry but Willie was dealing with a kid who should not have been in the NHL. Virtanen’s development was as much a desperate org need for some kind of prospect star on the horizon. What appears obvious now is that his game had to be rebuilt. That started in Utica. To suggest that Jake’s early struggles were all Desjardins fault is bogus. While older I put Hutton in the same scenario. Thrown in to early.