Pimp C Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Meanwhile Nylander has been the best player of this tournament. 9 points in 5 games compared to 3 points in 5. Just saying... After you blew him, did he atleast give you a goodnight kiss? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammert Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I thought that he looked good on that 3rd line although his PP wasn't very impressive It's been mentioned, his positioning seems off. Where he was that PP high slot between the dots waiting for..... a one-timer? If Paul had the net front then he should've occupied the left boards? No? Seems a bit lost with systems, can be understandable with so many different linemates and no PP practice though. All I can say is I want some more fast break rushes and him to burn that Slovak D and wire home a beauty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 After you blew him, did he atleast give you a goodnight kiss? No, and he was over-obsessive so Nylander unfollowed him on Instagram and started ignoring his texts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 It's been mentioned, his positioning seems off. Where he was that PP high slot between the dots waiting for..... a one-timer? If Paul had the net front then he should've occupied the left boards? No? Seems a bit lost with systems, can be understandable with so many different linemates and no PP practice though. All I can say is I want some more fast break rushes and him to burn that Slovak D and wire home a beauty!! Agreed. He looked awkward on the pp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammert Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 More due to miss-direction than anything else. Coach is really pulling favourites you can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJamIam Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) More due to miss-direction than anything else. Coach is really pulling favourites you can tell. Hockey Canada seems like more of a boys club than the NHLOA. Their coach and player picks seem bewildering at times and while Canada has a great team this year, but I'm really wondering why they hell they put Groulx in charge of them. He never struck me as the right choice but after watching the WJC, I can safely say his usage of the lines is pretty amateur. He's just got a team that just wins all match ups to cover him but if he had to play the match up game against a comparable team I would bet he'd lose. Makes me wonder if he's equally clueless with systems and in the locker room as well. Edited January 3, 2015 by SamJamIam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Agreed. He looked awkward on the pp Because the coach had him up high in the middle where he had no real scoring chances. His strength is his shot. He needed to be on the right side in the slot if he is going to have success on the pp. Seems like the coach is simply throwing him out there and not really trying to utilize him properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 His biggest problem IMO is that he isn't very good at getting open for shots. Maybe a reason he isn't on the PP which connects to not being smart enough to read the game, I'm not going to say the scouts are wrong and say his hockey IQ isn't lacking because it kind of is. He has a hard shot, good speed and it sounds all good on paper but it's only useful when he has the puck. In the NHL, he won't have the puck on his stick for a long time so he has to get open to get the puck and get a shot off. I don't think it's a big concern but it's a concern, you would expect him to be firing one-timers with his great shot but that hasn't happened. He's a good passer though. The "look he got an assist, his hockey IQ isn't that bad" is dumb, there's more to being a smart hockey player than being able to pass the puck just like what I mentioned in this post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Judging his hockey IQ in a tournament where he has never played with his linemates and is being used in a different position isn't really fair judgement. No one has moved around the lineup more than Virtanen.The fact that he's picking up any points with the line juggling that's going on is impressive. You wanna know why he looks lost, it's because he doesn't know who his linemates are half the time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Its fine you guys everyone has an off game here and there. Virtanen will bounce back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammert Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Because the coach had him up high in the middle where he had no real scoring chances. His strength is his shot. He needed to be on the right side in the slot if he is going to have success on the pp. Seems like the coach is simply throwing him out there and not really trying to utilize him properly. Actually for him to be most effective is his off wing the left side to best utilize that lazor one timer Edited January 3, 2015 by Jammert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klw604 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I prefer centers to be the playmakers on a line anyway. A winger playmaker can only make plays one direction in the offensive zone, and often get frustrated in high traffic, button-hooking and turning over the puck. They also tend to foray into the middle of the ice near the blue line to gain more room, but then admire passes and get destroyed. They're best on the power play, where there is more space. A center playmaker naturally has more options at his disposal and is therefore more appealing. He's also far more likely to create 200ft plays rather than offensive zone-only plays. As a power winger with speed and physicality, I'd rather Virtanen be a finisher who can crush guys. He's far more suited for that role, as we have seen. No $&!# sherlocks, everyone wants virtanen to crush and plot goals like Jerome Iginla, it's called hockey IQ that hockey players need to succeed. Way to state the obvious about playmaking centers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) ? Ritchie is now the fourth line winger and, in that time, Virtanen has spent time in the middle-6. One entire game on McDavid's wing. If there's one thing I wanted Groulx to do, it's use him on the second unit powerplay. I don't really see him ahead of Domi, Reinhart, Duclair, Petan, McDavid, Lazar, and even Point, so I don't see that happening, sadly... its probably the way they play. Virt likes to have the puck and be the playmaker, Mcdavid's game is more about passing and using linemates. Virt is the 3rd youngest of the team, that's probably why he's on the 4th line for most of games to figure it out, I know he's 6th pick and should be higher that other guys but he's game is just different and wasted at top 6 when he can be more useful at bottom 6, and that's not making him to succeed, its making the team to succeed Upon further research, Groulx is really just a badly disguised Gru. If I'm banned, you'll know why. Anyhow, the guy is pure evil. Edited January 3, 2015 by Dazzle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smilesick Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Enjoy it while it lasts, Will Balding comes from his mothers father, so he may be in luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowYaDrouin Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 After watching the game today, it was obvious that it just wasn't his game for whatever reason. Especially on that power play late, he whiffed on a empty net, and then had a bad turnover that let Denmark clear the zone. However what really bugged me about his game today, was that multiple times after the whistle I saw him give the goalie or a defender a punch or a shot. I think that's ridiculous, especially in a game that at the time we were up like 6-0. Theres absolutely no need for that kind of behavior. It's also the kind of thing that other teams fans will love to pick on when saying how "cheap" or "dirty" the Canucks are. Smarten up Jake, keep the cheap shots to a minimum and the snipes to a maximum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 C'mon, guys, just ignore DownUndaCanuck. At this point he's just trying to get a reaction out of people, so don't give him the satisfaction of that working. It's no coincidence that he decides to show up again when people are arguing about Virtanen in some way. Never saw him around when Virtanen was doing well. Leave him. I have never doubted that Virtanen will be a good player, and that he has shown he's got some good tools in the few junior league games he's played this year, but that means nothing when he's getting compared straight up to players in his same draft class only a few picks away from him. Sure he's young and I know he'll develop into a fantastic winger, but right now guys like Nylander look leagues ahead of Virtanen. I'm just hoping he's a "late bloomer" so to speak and peaks far later than a guy like Nylander will, because I (and the rest of Canucks fans for that matter) will be watching these kids like hawks. Sorry I guess I just expected more from a 6th overall pick. It's hard not to expect more when Nylander's dominating the World Juniors. For those of you who say "Nylander's softer than Virtanen" and he won't deal with the big strong Kings and Ducks, we'll have to wait and see, but he's dealing with players a year older than him, players far bigger than him and fully grown adults in the SEL and he's thriving in every single situation he's been in. I don't doubt Nylander won't thrive in the NHL either. This kid is a stud and a future star, and it was a mistake to draft Virtanen over him. I'm fine with Virtanen over Ehlers and Ritchie, but I knew we would regret letting Nylander go from the get go and he's embarrassing all you Canadian-homers in this tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 ^^^^ Lol, Reinhart and Ritchie are the only other players that made the tea, from this years draft class, and Virtanen has been better than Ritchie. That's hardly embarrassing. And I preferred Ehlers in the draft, but Virtanen has done just fine, considering his age. Wait until next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 *made the team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Agreed. Should've traded the pick for a rental or something. Some of you guys are ???? hilarious. Stop these insane overreactions. Seriously. Im pretty sure he was kidding, wasnt he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Oh look Point scores a goal in his first game with McDavid and Lazar If this is a troll account for you then bravo, but if your serious.... I dont think that you have a clue about hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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