2SKATES1STICK Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Am I the only one who was pulling my hair out watching this kid play today? I'm a huge Virtanen fan, think we made the right choice and supported him all the way up to the draft But let's not sugarcoat it. The play died on his stick tonight, he looked so lost out there, and he was floating more than he was engaged. Looking for him to bounce back next game he made the third goal possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ActiveDouble Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 he made the third goal possible. DID he even get the assist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGirl Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Felt his game play was more or less okay today, liked whenever he uses his body. His speed is always great, but the only lacking part I find is that I don't seem to see he and his linemates connect on each other's passes too much...(Ignoring the Lazar goal, of course) Overall, a good game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 DID he even get the assist? takeaway and assist on the same play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 DID he even get the assist? takeaway and assist on the same play. No assist. And it's an injustice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ActiveDouble Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 No assist. And it's an injustice. We should have drafted Nylander. am i doing dis rite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Moody Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 he made the third goal possible. Admittedly that was a great play, but his overall game was hard to watch. He was on a 3 on 2 with mcdavid and lazar and shot it off the half boards into demkos chest. He missed atleast 4 passes and stick handled his way into the defensemans skates atleast twice more. As I said, huge Virtanen fan but he was not good tonight in his role Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down by the River Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Admittedly that was a great play, but his overall game was hard to watch. He was on a 3 on 2 with mcdavid and lazar and shot it off the half boards into demkos chest. He missed atleast 4 passes and stick handled his way into the defensemans skates atleast twice more. As I said, huge Virtanen fan but he was not good tonight in his role That was hardly a 3-2. Plus, Rishaug had just finished talking about how the coach wanted the players to shoot earlier off of the rush. Virtanen was listening to his coach. The execution was off, but he was simply trying to heed his coach's instructions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bure_Pavel Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Him and his line played good defensively. offensively that line was good off the rush but in the offense zone they were not setting up and passing very good compare to the 1st and 3rd line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGirl Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 No assist. And it's an injustice. Yep. Still don't know why he didn't get credited... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGirl Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Admittedly that was a great play, but his overall game was hard to watch. He was on a 3 on 2 with mcdavid and lazar and shot it off the half boards into demkos chest. He missed atleast 4 passes and stick handled his way into the defensemans skates atleast twice more.As I said, huge Virtanen fan but he was not good tonight in his role I sorta have the same thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGirl Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Am I the only one who was pulling my hair out watching this kid play today? I'm a huge Virtanen fan, think we made the right choice and supported him all the way up to the draft But let's not sugarcoat it. The play died on his stick tonight, he looked so lost out there, and he was floating more than he was engaged. Looking for him to bounce back next game You're not the only one. I felt the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) Here's Virtanen vs USA. Quality is bad and stuff, you guys know the deal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-F_SPYZhz0 EDIT: Sorry it's so dark. I didn't notice that during editing. EDIT2: Sorry, forgot to make it Public. Edited January 1, 2015 by Canucks1219 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstewboy Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 its still not funny to watch man. I don't care if he's canucks but to be fair that's the only thing I don't like abouthim, cause its not grit anymore its classless, between period wheazling. You are embarassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Karlsson Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Am I the only one who was pulling my hair out watching this kid play today? I'm a huge Virtanen fan, think we made the right choice and supported him all the way up to the draft But let's not sugarcoat it. The play died on his stick tonight, he looked so lost out there, and he was floating more than he was engaged. Looking for him to bounce back next game Felt the same way. Honestly I feel like he plays better with less skilled players since he's so used to doing everything himself in jr. His speed and physical play was good today though. He needs a skill coach to help him with his hands and 1 on 1 play and he will be a force. I just don't think him and McDavid are a good fit. They both like to have the puck and I have no idea what's up with Lazar. Maybe it's a good thing Horvat didn't go, I feel like the same thing would happen with him too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Admittedly that was a great play, but his overall game was hard to watch. He was on a 3 on 2 with mcdavid and lazar and shot it off the half boards into demkos chest. He missed atleast 4 passes and stick handled his way into the defensemans skates atleast twice more. As I said, huge Virtanen fan but he was not good tonight in his role He was positionally good all game in all the zones, closed gaps turned over pucks played physical. Hockey is not only about scoring but playing a complete game. His play in the d-zone and neutral zone have impressed me for a young kid..3rd youngest on the team. He was put on the line with McDavid because he can play with pace and create space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride the red Pony Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Lol, c'mon guys he is young...........unwatchable????? He has a great combination of speed, balance, grit and skill. He is playing in a very short tourney with linemates he has never played with before the tournament. I think if you polled the montreal fans that were in attendance at this game what they thought of Virtanen, you would get an answer of "I wish the habs had drafted him". When you can finish checks the way he does and display the speed he brings, he will easily become a fan favorite. Then again, this is just my opinion. Consumate team player......had McDavids back the whole game. All his teammates for that matter. The combination of taking the body heavily and his speed will wear you down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Here's Virtanen vs USA. Quality is bad and stuff, you guys know the deal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-F_SPYZhz0 EDIT: Sorry it's so dark. I didn't notice that during editing. EDIT2: Sorry, forgot to make it Public. Love the videos. Thanks for all the work. One thing you notice is that while the Ritchie-McDavid-Lazar line was in their own zone often, the Virtanen-McDavid-Lazar line was in the opposing zone often. Night and day difference. While it is clear that Virtanen still needs to work on slowing the play down a bit rather than firing the puck all over the place, there are still some great aspects to his game that we need to get excited about. Basically, all the things you cannot teach, speed, size, aggressiveness, physicality, willingness to pay the price etc., are all there. It's the teachable things that he needs to work on, understandably. Loved the power he showed when he made a couple guys just bounce off him on hit attempts. This actually happens quite often. Very, very nice aspect to his game. On the Lazar goal I particularly enjoyed the fact that Virtanen's heads-up defense and elite speed directly led to his pass interception in the neutral zone that caught all of Team USA off-guard. The McDavid line is now something that works; Quick, physical power winger that pays attention to defense, speedy skilled centerman, and another winger who's willing to go to the net. Only thing I'd like is McDavid making a few more passing plays and some better faceoff ability, although he wasn't horrible there today. I guess if McDavid is allowed to make mistakes because he's a young prospect, so is Jake. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Well he fits better than Ritchie (not exactly a compliment), but Virtanen hasn't exactly impressed in terms of showing chemistry. Virtanen is impressing with his speed and physicality, but those are things that he does individually, not with his linemates. Jake seems to sit around a lot and wait for the puck - reminds me of Kassian here with the Canucks. Would like to see him use his linemates more, but at the same time, be selfish when he has the better chance and shoot. Basically, I think there's room for improvement in his decision making and cycling game. I don't think the onus is entirely on Jake, but that line as a whole. Virtanen, McDavid and Lazar just don't seem to have any cycling game - they are one and done most of the time on the rush and that's frustrating. Reinhart and Petan's line (even Gauthier's at times tonight) are able to get in and establish themselves with the cycle to create chances and zone time, but McDavid's line has yet to show that. Would like to see: Domi - Reinhart - Duclair Fabbri - McDavid - Lazar Paul - Petan - Virtanen Crouse - Gauthier - Ritchie I think McDavid and Lazar need another skill guy on their line that can create plays. On the 3rd line, I think Virtanen can bring the initial danger on the rush and then Paul and Petan can retrieve and sustain pressure with the cycle while Jake can try and get open for the shot or get in on the cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Admittedly that was a great play, but his overall game was hard to watch. He was on a 3 on 2 with mcdavid and lazar and shot it off the half boards into demkos chest. He missed atleast 4 passes and stick handled his way into the defensemans skates atleast twice more. As I said, huge Virtanen fan but he was not good tonight in his role Meh. Lazar made the same play twice, but missed the net. If you attempt a pass in that scenario and it results in a turnover, that helps the other team. Shooting not as pretty as a nice feed through traffic, but safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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