JamesB Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 .... I think he will be the type of player you need to play with speed, and with a player who is defensively aware eg Horvat. I also noticed he does cycle, he will need to be a bit better on cycling along with his in zone passes; however, I don't see him making the team,as I feel he needs to play in the AHL like Shinkurak, and develop the right way. Also, I feel he won't be a top 6 material right away, I can see him on the 3rd line to start his NHL career, and after a season slowly moves up ... Virtanen is unlikely to ever be as defensively aware as Horvat. Virtanen is a guy who can play responsible defence, but Horvat is a natural shutdown forward. Remember last year when Horvat was one of the young guys on the Canadian world juniors he was still the go-to guy for PK, shutdown and key faceoffs. Virtanen never got any ice-time on the PK or in key shutdown situations. That said, I think Virtanen has a higher ceiling than Horvat. In the basic skills -- skating, shooting, receiving passes -- and in the physical game he looks as far along as anyone in the entire world junior tournament. Admittedly he does not have the on-ice vision, creativity, and instinct that the better offensive players in the tournament have, but he seems to have made a lot of progress in the past year. No reason his progress will not continue to be rapid. Like Horvat, there is no way he will be anything less than a good 3rd liner in the NHL in a few years, but he looks likes a good prospect to be a first liner, unlike Horvat, who ceiling is probably 2C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tragoedia Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I guess he leaves his feet. He played decent got a assist on a nice pass. I think he will be the type of player you need to play with speed, and with a player who is defensively aware eg Horvat. I also noticed he does cycle, he will need to be a bit better on cycling along with his in zone passes; however, I don't see him making the team,as I feel he needs to play in the AHL like Shinkurak, and develop the right way. Also, I feel he won't be a top 6 material right away, I can see him on the 3rd line to start his NHL career, and after a season slowly moves up. Shinkaruk Horvat Virtanen line in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Before the kid gets judged to death by some it is important to consider a few things... 1. Outside the lockout years this is arguably the most dominant junior team Canada has put together in the past 20 years...and Jake made the roster. This was a stacked team...this experience will serve him well. 2. Max Domi did not make the team the year he was drafted...one year later he returns and dominates the tournament. That one extra year Domi got in junior plus some nhl exposure made a big difference. virtanen will get similar exposure for another year...exposure that should mould him in the type of player that we will want to see at the nhl level. 3. Jake had his best game vs the Russians despite being juggled around in the bottom 6... Russia was the biggest team they faced so far..I'd take a kid like jake vs some of our current and past prospects like Vey and Schroeder simply because he is built like a truck and can skate .... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Canucks1219 Posted January 6, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Jake Virtanen vs Russia (Gold-Medal Game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tHMFrq8Urc Edited January 6, 2015 by Canucks1219 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihatetomatoes Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Like a few things about his game. Extremely physically talented, skates and hits incredibly. Worried about his lack of puck skills and intelligence. Doesn't read the play well and doesn't cycle well or use his teammates well. Play died often on his stick and every line he played in seemed to lack chemistry. Not a good sign. Players don't excel in the NHL on physical talent alone like the NBA or NFL and intelligence can't be taught. IMO virtanen will need to learn to score and play better in the o zone because it seems he scores mostly off the rush which is rare for a pro player. Thankfully he's guaranteed to be a good 3rd liner minimum due to his size and speed. Didn't outplay the guys he was drafted before in Ritchie, Ehlers, and Nylander. Edited January 6, 2015 by Ihatetomatoes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Jake Virtanen vs Russia (Gold-Medal Game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tHMFrq8Urc Yeah he totally deserved that penalty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tragoedia Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Before the kid gets judged to death by some it is important to consider a few things... 1. Outside the lockout years this is arguably the most dominant junior team Canada has put together in the past 20 years...and Jake made the roster. This was a stacked team...this experience will serve him well. 2. Max Domi did not make the team the year he was drafted...one year later he returns and dominates the tournament. That one extra year Domi got in junior plus some nhl exposure made a big difference. virtanen will get similar exposure for another year...exposure that should mould him in the type of player that we will want to see at the nhl level. 3. Jake had his best game vs the Russians despite being juggled around in the bottom 6... Russia was the biggest team they faced so far..I'd take a kid like jake vs some of our current and past prospects like Vey and Schroeder simply because he is built like a truck and can skate .... Even if he was benched at times and made a few "rookie" type plays he still held his own. He was contributor to the teams success and that bodes well for his confidence. Hopefully he can be a dominating player next year and translate that success into the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Like a few things about his game. Extremely physically talented, skates and hits incredibly. Worried about his lack of puck skills and intelligence. Doesn't read the play well and doesn't cycle well or use his teammates well. Play died often on his stick and every line he played in seemed to lack chemistry. Not a good sign. Players don't excel in the NHL on physical talent alone like the NBA or NFL and intelligence can't be taught. IMO virtanen will need to learn to score and play better in the o zone because it seems he scores mostly off the rush which is rare for a pro player. Thankfully he's guaranteed to be a good 3rd liner minimum due to his size and speed. Didn't outplay the guys he was drafted before in Ritchie, Ehlers, and Nylander. Sounds like long stretches of some years Ryan Kesler had here..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Interesting next yr's tourney is hosted by Finland. He should be popular there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 4 points in 7 games while averaging the least ice time on the team, and the 3rd youngest player on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Sounds like long stretches of some years Ryan Kesler had here..... Virtanen has far more offensive skill and upside than Kesler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Canucks1219 Posted January 6, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2015 4 points in 7 games while averaging the least ice time on the team, and the 3rd youngest player on the team. Should be 5 points since he didn't get the blatant assist on the 3-1 Lazar goal against the US. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vantbl Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Very proud of Jake and the rest of team canada for bringing gold back to where it belongs. This year he may have not been a major contributor but next year I think he will be one of Canadas better players. Winning this will go a long way for career and his confidence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Sounds like long stretches of some years Ryan Kesler had here..... Comparing Virtanen to Kesler is outright ridiculous. Kes has 3 times the hockey IQ that Virtanen has. Edit : Here is someone who was also drafted very high and had the same skillset as Virtanen http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=42312 Edited January 6, 2015 by Absent Canuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Virtanen has far more offensive skill and upside than Kesler. Allow me to quote you on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Comparing Virtanen to Kesler is outright ridiculous. Kes has 3 times the hockey IQ that Virtanen has. Virtanen has much better offensive tools than Kesler. But they are completely different players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vantbl Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Comparing Virtanen to Kesler is outright ridiculous. Kes has 3 times the hockey IQ that Virtanen has. I'm guessing your a Nylander fan Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckGAME Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Extremely impressed by his physical attributes, but was disappointed by his offensive ability this tourny. He seemed to float alot. I have very high hopes for Jake. I think he will be a great player, next year if hes on the WJC team again we will be able to compare and see what kind of progress hes made. I hope hes put into more of a offensive role next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Comparing Virtanen to Kesler is outright ridiculous. Kes has 3 times the hockey IQ that Virtanen has. Edit : Here is someone who was also drafted very high and had the same skillset as Virtanen http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=42312 I already knew what that link was going to be before I even clicked it. Yeah Virtanen plays kind of like Raffi Torres sometimes. Except he has much better hands. And a much better shot. And he's much faster. And he's bigger. And he's smarter. Nice try though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Extremely impressed by his physical attributes, but was disappointed by his offensive ability this tourny. He seemed to float alot. I have very high hopes for Jake. I think he will be a great player, next year if hes on the WJC team again we will be able to compare and see what kind of progress hes made. I hope hes put into more of a offensive role next year. If he makes the Canucks he won't be on the team. But I could see him getting sent back to the WHL for 1 more year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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