Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[garthsbutcher]

Fun fact , his Nickname “Shotgun  Jake” was given to him because he’s always a passenger on the ice!

[DeNiro]

[-DLC-]

 

4 hours ago, bbllpp said:

The power forward ship has sailed on Jake, doesn’t have the will nor really the size to dominate the average NHL D.  

 

1 hour ago, bbllpp said:

More meant at 6’1” he’s smaller than the average NHL DBert was a Monster of a man by comparison and made it look easy as a result.  

 

15 minutes ago, bbllpp said:

It’s not about weight it’s about strength.

I was responding to your comments about the size element of things...so now you're changing it to strength.

 

I do agree about "the will"...I think that's equally as important in determining a power forward.  Driving to the net usually calls on "drive" and determination.   But it doesn't mean if someone doesn't show it now they can't bring it at some point.  It's about wanting it badly enough. 

 

Strength is about size but also emotional investment and adrenalin.  Those things can make players play a big game...if they're fired up and all in.

 

I don't feel that ship has sailed...I feel like Jake has to be the one to switch the switch and, as his time on the bench and these discussions become even more prominent, it's up to him to do so.   Check in to each game emotionally...like it's his last.

He has to figure out what game he wants to play in accordance with what the team needs from him.   

 

I considered Kes a power forward...he didn't have the size and was smaller but it was his will to win that drove him there.  Jake has to muster that up.  If he's satisfied with his game, then it won't happen.  He has to want more of himself and figure out how he can best utilize his assets on a consistent basis.

[bbllpp]

1 minute ago, debluvscanucks said:

 

 

 

I was responding to your comments about the size element of things...so now you're changing it to strength.

 

I do agree about "the will"...I think that's equally as important in determining a power forward.  Driving to the net usually calls on "drive" and determination.   But it doesn't mean if someone doesn't show it they can't bring it.  It's about wanting it badly enough. 

 

Strength is about size but also emotional investment and adrenalin.  Those things can make players play a big game...if they're fired up and all in.

 

I don't feel that ship has sailed...I feel like Jake has to be the one to switch the switch and, as his time on the bench and these discussions become even more prominent, it's up to him to do so.   Check in to each game emotionally...like it's his last.

He has to figure out what game he wants to play in accordance with what the team needs from him.  

Sorry being confusing, the smaller are the easier it is to be pushed around and your own personal strength becomes important, just trying to point that out.

 

Todd played here between 235 and 240 lbs and on ice and at 6’3” he was bigger than the Average NHL and up there as one of the strongest guys in the league.  I remember an after hours on HNIC and there was another guest, I think it was Colin James being interviewed and the shear bulk of Bertuzzi was just nuts.  His thighs were as thick as Colin James’s torso. 

Yes, there is still a chance that Jake pulls it all together, and I am rooting for him to do so, but I am perfectly ok if the Jake who scored 18 goals last year playing his game is all we ever get.

[-DLC-]

1 minute ago, bbllpp said:

Sorry being confusing, the smaller are the easier it is to be pushed around and your own personal strength becomes important, just trying to point that out.

 

Todd played here between 235 and 240 lbs and on ice and at 6’3” he was bigger than the Average NHL and up there as one of the strongest guys in the league.  I remember an after hours on HNIC and there was another guest, I think it was Colin James being interviewed and the shear bulk of Bertuzzi was just nuts.  His thighs were as thick as Colin James’s torso. 

Yes, there is still a chance that Jake pulls it all together, and I am rooting for him to do so, but I am perfectly ok if the Jake who scored 18 goals last year playing his game is all we ever get.

I felt that way when seeing the pic of Sutter (and, previously, Rous).  That their frames were smaller than how they played out there.

 

Heart can add a lot of strength in play.

 

I don't disagree with any of what you're saying.

[bbllpp]

3 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

I felt that way when seeing the pic of Sutter (and, previously, Rous).  That their frames were smaller than how they played out there.

 

Heart can add a lot of strength in play.

 

I don't disagree with any of what you're saying.

Whenever Pres. Linden got up on stage in his suit during drafts I couldn’t believe how rail thin he was.  He was also a beast, can close my eyes and still see Norton going through the glass

Edited January 30, 2021 by bbllpp

[Ghostsof1915]

14 minutes ago, bbllpp said:

Whenever Pres. Linden got up on stage in his suit during drafts I couldn’t believe how rail thin he was.  He was also a beast, can close my eyes and still see Norton going through the glass

When Linden retired he did (and probably still does) a LOT of cycling. He's gone on massive road trips through Europe. So I'm not surprised he's lost a lot of bulk and is more thin now. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

I think Green is making JB's decision for him, as soon as we start sitting Jake we start winning games and right now he's on the outside looking in. Gaudette hasn't done much to surplant him, but I think MacEwan has.

 

Look at the guys who have come into training camp and then the first 10 games of the season who have worked harder and played harder than Jake. Virtanen was basically gifted a top-6 role when we let Toffoli go, it was Virtanen's to lose, and then look what happens - a small young Swedish kid out-hustles him and works harder than him (oh, Nylander/Ehlers that you again?). 

 

I think with Gaudette, no one's really surprised - a late 5th round pick who produced a lot of surprising offence last season but doesn't cost us much in terms of pick/cap/ice-time so no one's too worried. Virtanen on the other hand is, and what's disappointing is the number of players who are out-working him right now. I would include Zac MacEwan into the mix - the kid gets 10 seconds of ice-time by chance with our top-line on a change and he wins the puck, skates right to the front of the net and scores a great goal against one of the best goalies in the NHL. Virtanen hasn't shown us that hustle all season. 

 

I think his lack of playing is showing that Green is now disappointed in him too and I think JB is going to do something this off-season, even if it is not to protect him. Virtanen for Sam Bennett straight up makes a lot of sense but I'd explore some other options first. I think Bennett might be able to have some success as a 3rd line center to replace Sutter but I really don't see Virtanen's career being rejuvenated in Calgary unless he plays with Gaudreau. 

[iinatcc]

So are we all going to stop pretending that Virtanen was a better pick than Nylander or Ehlers or is this still a thing ? 

[Westcoasting]

50 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

So are we all going to stop pretending that Virtanen was a better pick than Nylander or Ehlers or is this still a thing ? 

I assume we still have to wait a few more years as it takes longer for a power forward with special skills to develop... oh and wait for the playoffs this is the kind of guy who will shine in the playoffs

[Boudrias]

51 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

I think Green is making JB's decision for him, as soon as we start sitting Jake we start winning games and right now he's on the outside looking in. Gaudette hasn't done much to surplant him, but I think MacEwan has.

 

Look at the guys who have come into training camp and then the first 10 games of the season who have worked harder and played harder than Jake. Virtanen was basically gifted a top-6 role when we let Toffoli go, it was Virtanen's to lose, and then look what happens - a small young Swedish kid out-hustles him and works harder than him (oh, Nylander/Ehlers that you again?). 

 

I think with Gaudette, no one's really surprised - a late 5th round pick who produced a lot of surprising offence last season but doesn't cost us much in terms of pick/cap/ice-time so no one's too worried. Virtanen on the other hand is, and what's disappointing is the number of players who are out-working him right now. I would include Zac MacEwan into the mix - the kid gets 10 seconds of ice-time by chance with our top-line on a change and he wins the puck, skates right to the front of the net and scores a great goal against one of the best goalies in the NHL. Virtanen hasn't shown us that hustle all season. 

 

I think his lack of playing is showing that Green is now disappointed in him too and I think JB is going to do something this off-season, even if it is not to protect him. Virtanen for Sam Bennett straight up makes a lot of sense but I'd explore some other options first. I think Bennett might be able to have some success as a 3rd line center to replace Sutter but I really don't see Virtanen's career being rejuvenated in Calgary unless he plays with Gaudreau. 

The challenge faced by Jake has always been the ticking clock as he tried to establish himself in the NHL. There will always be younger players challenging for his TOI. IMHO Jake had to play a more physical game and refine his d-side game to establish himself. Excluding injuries his opportunity is slipping. This is without Podz here yet. 

 

The same situation exists for Tryamkin. 

[CanucksForever2]

I rather trade Virtanen for a pick so we have 1 extra spot to protect a young player from the expansion.

 

ie) Macewan, Lind, Gaudette. We can't protect all of them. After all these years developing them, they are starting to look bright for the future.

Edited January 31, 2021 by CanucksForever2

[PuckYa]

4 hours ago, iinatcc said:

So are we all going to stop pretending that Virtanen was a better pick than Nylander or Ehlers or is this still a thing ? 

 

4 hours ago, Westcoasting said:

I assume we still have to wait a few more years as it takes longer for a power forward with special skills to develop... oh and wait for the playoffs this is the kind of guy who will shine in the playoffs

 

On 1/29/2021 at 12:20 PM, captainhorvat said:

Such a useless player with no hockey IQ will never understand the support he gets on this board...u guyz are all clowns 

 

On 1/30/2021 at 10:19 AM, captainhorvat said:

Can’t wait for this loser to be traded for future considerations 

 

23 hours ago, garthsbutcher said:

Fun fact , his Nickname “Shotgun  Jake” was given to him because he’s always a passenger on the ice!

 

 

Fake Flirtanen  

[Captain Canuck #12]

15 hours ago, CanucksForever2 said:

I rather trade Virtanen for a pick so we have 1 extra spot to protect a young player from the expansion.

 

ie) Macewan, Lind, Gaudette. We can't protect all of them. After all these years developing them, they are starting to look bright for the future.

Can we even do that?  As I just posted in another thread, Patrick Johnson's article in today's Province seems to suggest otherwise: 

 

But are teams interested in Virtanen anymore? One source doesn’t think so: “30 teams would have passed on qualifying him.”

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/the-skate-not-at-all-like-a-hog-on-ice

[DeNiro]

1 hour ago, Captain Canuck #12 said:

Can we even do that?  As I just posted in another thread, Patrick Johnson's article in today's Province seems to suggest otherwise: 

 

But are teams interested in Virtanen anymore? One source doesn’t think so: “30 teams would have passed on qualifying him.”

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/the-skate-not-at-all-like-a-hog-on-ice

Patrick Johnson doesn’t have sources.

 

Also speaking on behalf of 30 GMs is pretty bold.

 

Sensationalist tidbit, nothing more.

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, Captain Canuck #12 said:

Can we even do that?  As I just posted in another thread, Patrick Johnson's article in today's Province seems to suggest otherwise: 

 

But are teams interested in Virtanen anymore? One source doesn’t think so: “30 teams would have passed on qualifying him.”

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/the-skate-not-at-all-like-a-hog-on-ice

Only way it work is if he's traded for a player the other organization have given up on.

 

We are looking at something like Virtanen for a reclamation project like a Jesse Puljujärvi or Joshua Ho-Sang

 

 

[Ballisticsports.]

8 hours ago, iinatcc said:

Only way it work is if he's traded for a player the other organization have given up on.

 

We are looking at something like Virtanen for a reclamation project like a Jesse Puljujärvi or Joshua Ho-Sang

 

 

Maybe could have done Pool party before, doubtful now ?

No sweeteners of Picks for Jake or anyone please, A good D draft available

Plus we can't protect All players (so could be like a rental) and teams taking him will say the same, so  I could see teams doing reclamation trades and same division because of the14 day quarantine, more likely too that a Bennet or Mete traded within division? 

For that scenario and teams realizing they may lose them and cannot afford to wait and yjey may get a player who will thrive on a new change

If Jake was traded, i could see him motivated, so Seattle picks him up in the draft and he would be near home and friends (once the borders are re-opened)

But I expected that this year, If playing in the states at the moment, you won't see much of them

Hard work is a skillset and not one of the skills in Jakes toolbox, or he could be a heck of a player

 

 

 

[garthsbutcher]

Ottawas second round pick please

[73 Percent]

Could virtanen be the DTD because of a pending trade? Speculate away 

[Nucker 67]

1 hour ago, 73 Percent said:

Could virtanen be the DTD because of a pending trade? Speculate away 

I kind of hope so, but only if he goes to another division, But I wonder if this is just Green trying to teach Jake a lesson (again for the 100th time) by giving him a time-out.