Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[aGENT]

I did not think of the way you projected Benning's plan. I must say your idea sounds like a winner. Can we get lucky and get an elite D to go with that group?

Right now I'd take a solid #2D or two above what we already have. An elite #1 would be GREAT though. Of course that's assuming the Hutton, Subban and Brisebois can all get to or close to their potential and there's a lot of question marks there.

If they do though, a top 4 of:

Hutton, MrX

Brisebois, Subban

...with the Pedan's, Cederholm's, Tryamkin's, Sautner's etc filling in the 5-8 spots could very well work. But IMO we need to find MrX and that's counting on most of those guys reaching their peak projections....

Risky business. AKA our D still needs work.

Forwards I'm not really worried about though, especially Virtanen.

[nowhereman]

Curious, I thought you were more aware of the direction the team is headed? It's pretty apparent Benning plans to build similar to Boston with no real outstanding, traditional, star laden 1st line.

I mean if a bonafide 1st line super star happens to fall in our laps, I doubt Benning complains but he's clearly building a 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B style of lineup with fairly equal talent throughout. We're not likely to have many (any?) players with 70+ points (after the Sedins anyway) but we should have boat loads of 40-60 point guys throughout the lineup (which also makes covering for injuries, slumps etc easier and keep salaries lower).

Big, fast, hard working, tenacious 2 way play with some skill. That's the Canucks moving forward and Virtanen at #6 is a far better fit within that plan than anyone else we could have selected there IMO.

Personally, I like the idea of building a deep, gritty team of two-way guys who can play the game in a variety of ways. But you still need stars, to win in today's game. Boston had their fair share of superstars. At the time they won the cup, Chara was a top 3-5 defenseman in the NHL and Tim Thomas was a two-time Vezina-winning tender. Not to mention, Bergeron is arguably a top 10 center in the NHL. They may not have had a Crosby or an OV but they had elite-level talent.

With that said, I'm still very happy with the Virtanen selection. There seems to be a lot of arguing over a guy who has never even played an NHL game (but neither has any of his comparables). If Jake ends up a 25-25 hard-hitting powerfoward who does it all, I would consider that a major success.

[Alflives]

Right now I'd take a solid #2D or two above what we already have. An elite #1 would be GREAT though. Of course that's assuming the Hutton, Subban and Brisebois can all get to or close to their potential and there's a lot of question marks there.

If they do though, a top 4 of:

Hutton, MrX

Brisebois, Subban

...with the Pedan's, Cederholm's, Tryamkin's, Sautner's etc filling in the 5-8 spots could very well work. But IMO we need to find MrX and that's counting on most of those guys reaching their peak projections....

Risky business. AKA our D still needs work.

Forwards I'm not really worried about though, especially Virtanen.

Thanks for the information. You sure know a lot about our young guys! It's good to hear a person with your knowledge feel good about Jake.

[canuckledraggin]

At this point I don't see enough of a chance of the high end skill we'd need to really be successful. It'll be nice if it happens, and we do have some very good young players and prospects, but I'm not exactly sold that the future is completely rosy now that our older players are starting to move on.

Yeah, not sure why the pro-Virtanen crowd keeps bringing him up. It's not helping their case.

This thread is like a bad acid trip. Everytime I think the Nylander Ehlers crap has gone away, here come the prospect bashers and I'm trippin balls again.

As a Canucks fan, I have no choice but to be pro-Virtanen. Personally I would have taken him 6th in 2014 and in a re-draft I still take him over those smurfs.

I really hope that he makes the team and leaves no question marks surrounding his play, that way this thread can die and the Virtanen/ Horvat haters can move on to the next prospect to bash. Yes Horvat. Don't try to tell me you thought Bo was fast enough or had the offensive game to play in the NHL last year. There weren't too many of us that were saying give the kid a chance, he can't be any worse than Sestito.

Virtanen doesn't have to beat out any roster player, there's a spot just waiting for him to take. If he doesn't take it, it belongs to Grenier and the bashing goes on for another year. Like Bo, his physical style and abilities will get him to the show. I'm hopeful that it's this year, so the Willy and Nik nuthugger crew will be forced to go away.

[elvis15]

Baer, Shinkaruk, Gaunce, Kenins at LW. Sutter, Horvat,, McCann, Cassels at C. Virtanen, Boesser, Jensen, Grenier at RW.

And that's without any further trades, drafts or UFA's. And it's without considering the Sedins who are around for another 3 years minimum and likely putting up 60-70 points.

You don't think there's enough projected/likely skill in there to score at a decent rate from at least the top 9?

Again, I don't see one guy racking up points but I see good depth scoring throughout that which is far harder to defend against/shut down.

Nope, I don't. Those guys aren't all going to score in the 40-60 range in the NHL (some of them may, Sutter and Horvat sure, Baertschi, McCann, Virtanen and Boeser maybe) so it's not enough scoring by committee to make up for when the Sedins leave.

Clearly we still have time to draft, trade or sign a star talent that we're missing (both for forwards and defence) but we're seriously lacking at this point.

[Tystick]

This thread is like a bad acid trip. Everytime I think the Nylander Ehlers crap has gone away, here come the prospect bashers and I'm trippin balls again.

As a Canucks fan, I have no choice but to be pro-Virtanen. Personally I would have taken him 6th in 2014 and in a re-draft I still take him over those smurfs.

I really hope that he makes the team and leaves no question marks surrounding his play, that way this thread can die and the Virtanen/ Horvat haters can move on to the next prospect to bash. Yes Horvat. Don't try to tell me you thought Bo was fast enough or had the offensive game to play in the NHL last year. There weren't too many of us that were saying give the kid a chance, he can't be any worse than Sestito.

Virtanen doesn't have to beat out any roster player, there's a spot just waiting for him to take. If he doesn't take it, it belongs to Grenier and the bashing goes on for another year. Like Bo, his physical style and abilities will get him to the show. I'm hopeful that it's this year, so the Willy and Nik nuthugger crew will be forced to go away.

I'm with you man.

I wish there were more Canuck fans out there like you.

Just give the kid a chance.

Still can't believe people write the guy off before he's even played an NHL game.

[Tystick]

I can't wait for Virtanen to start making an impact.

If he hits his potential, he's going to be lethal. It's hard not to see him become a 40 goal scorer.

He's got all the tools, many NHL ready. At 19.

I personally believe it's a mistake to send him back to junior next year, BUT, if he's a defensive liability then we have no choice.

[Alflives]

Nope, I don't. Those guys aren't all going to score in the 40-60 range in the NHL (some of them may, Sutter and Horvat sure, Baertschi, McCann, Virtanen and Boeser maybe) so it's not enough scoring by committee to make up for when the Sedins leave.

Clearly we still have time to draft, trade or sign a star talent that we're missing (both for forwards and defence) but we're seriously lacking at this point.

many of us feel we have the star talent in our forward group already. It's our D, where we need to improve. As for Virtanen, IMO, he's a can't miss NHL top six Power Forward, who will provide awesome numbers. I'm so very happy we have him, and Boeser to follow.

[Outsiders]

I can't wait for Virtanen to start making an impact.

If he hits his potential, he's going to be lethal. It's hard not to see him become a 40 goal scorer.

He's got all the tools, many NHL ready. At 19.

I personally believe it's a mistake to send him back to junior next year, BUT, if he's a defensive liability then we have no choice.

Jake may score 40 once, but i think its a stretch consistent 25-35 goal scorer forsure

[canuckledraggin]

I can't wait for Virtanen to start making an impact.

If he hits his potential, he's going to be lethal. It's hard not to see him become a 40 goal scorer.

He's got all the tools, many NHL ready. At 19.

I personally believe it's a mistake to send him back to junior next year, BUT, if he's a defensive liability then we have no choice.

I didn't see any holes in his game defensively when he played for Utica last year. He played his position well and didn't stray from his assignment. He has a good stick and got into passing lanes, causing turnovers. He made some nice stretch passes from his own zone, which indicates he was backchecking well. There is also the fact that his speed allows him to catch up to the play if he gets caught out of position.

Big, Fast and motivated. I see a great training camp ahead and people questioning his IQ are gonna be surprised.

[Derp...]

He will need to play very well in preseason to get a spot, don't forget Shinkaruk has been PPG in preseason and not made the team.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Derp...

[Alflives]

I didn't see any holes in his game defensively when he played for Utica last year. He played his position well and didn't stray from his assignment. He has a good stick and got into passing lanes, causing turnovers. He made some nice stretch passes from his own zone, which indicates he was backchecking well. There is also the fact that his speed allows him to catch up to the play if he gets caught out of position.

Big, Fast and motivated. I see a great training camp ahead and people questioning his IQ are gonna be surprised.

Yup, he's going to be a beauty. I saw a fight of his posted, where at only 16 he stood toe toe with the other team's 20 year old tough guy, and Jake held his own. He took some good shots, but stayed in there. I think his hockey IQ should include a lot more tha just passing skills, which is how many look at that. He gets open. He picks his spots to be aggressive. He chooses well, when to fight. He feels the game momentum. That shows high Hockey IQ too.

[DeNiro]

He will need to play very well in preseason to get a spot, don't forget Shinkaruk has been PPG in preseason and not made the team.

Everyone forgets how close Shinkaruk was to making the team. The thing holding him back was strength and conditioning, which was hindered by his offseason hip surgery.

He's definitely a guy that could fly under the radar in training camp. He could challenge Baertschi for that top 6 winger spot.

[aGENT]

Nope, I don't. Those guys aren't all going to score in the 40-60 range in the NHL (some of them may, Sutter and Horvat sure, Baertschi, McCann, Virtanen and Boeser to maybe) so it's not enough scoring by committee to make up for when the Sedins leave.

Clearly we still have time to draft, trade or sign a star talent that we're missing (both for forwards and defence) but we're seriously lacking at this point.

Really? I could see the following in 5'ish years..

Baer, McCann, Virtanen 50-60 point average

Shinkaruk, Horvat, Boeser 40-50 point average

Gaunce, Sutter, Jensen 30-40 point average

Kenins, Cassels, Grenier 20-30 point average.

I don't see that as out of the question.

We also still likely have the Sedins for another say 5 years from now.

And again that doesn't factor in any trades, ufa's or future draftees that would improve the team further.

[VANcanucks92]

He will need to play very well in preseason to get a spot, don't forget Shinkaruk has been PPG in preseason and not made the team.

Shinkaruk though needs to be in top 6 to play HIS game, Virtanen can play throughout the lineup at the start. Much better chance for Jake to make it imo.

[nergish]

Shinkaruk though needs to be in top 6 to play HIS game, Virtanen can play throughout the lineup at the start. Much better chance for Jake to make it imo.

Yep. This is pretty much it right here. Jake makes the team for a multitude of reasons (namely that he's our top prospect), but mostly because he's not the kind of player that needs to be pigeonholed to have a spot on the roster. That said, he's an even stronger offensive prospect than Horvat, so we may be in for a surprise.

Shinkaruk probably would be playing on the Nucks this season if it weren't for Baertschi being waiver-eligible. I think the management actually really like this player. But Baertschi gets the benefit of the doubt for now because he's older and ready for primetime. I'm hoping they end up playing in the same lineup some day, mind you.

[canuckledraggin]

Everyone forgets how close Shinkaruk was to making the team. The thing holding him back was strength and conditioning, which was hindered by his offseason hip surgery.

He's definitely a guy that could fly under the radar in training camp. He could challenge Baertschi for that top 6 winger spot.

If we hadn't traded for Baertschi and Hunter had outplayed him during their time in Utica I might agree. The fact that Hunter can be sent to Utica and that he will be thrust into a leadership role along with Gaunce, is a perfect development plan.

I like the nucleus of prospects Shinkaruk, Gaunce, Cassels, Grenier, Jensen, Pedan, Hutton, Subban... Next year another handful of those guys can make the team and very quickly the rebuild is in full operation.

Hunter is a victim of circumstance and had we not acquired Baertschi it might have been his year, but we have lots of time left before he needs a full-time job.

Virtanen speeds up the rebuild significantly this year if he makes the team. I'm a fan of Benning's succession plan. He is bringing players up together and keeping a mix of veterans to help through the growing pains. He has identified which players are able to skip the line and which players need to marinate in the minors.

[DeNiro]

If we hadn't traded for Baertschi and Hunter had outplayed him during their time in Utica I might agree. The fact that Hunter can be sent to Utica and that he will be thrust into a leadership role along with Gaunce, is a perfect development plan.

Shinkaruk took most of the season in Utica to find his groove after going through hip surgery and being a bit behind. In his final 13 games he had 8G and 4A.

If he comes into training camp in great shape, I wouldn't rule him out. Baertschi isn't just gonna be handed a top 6 role, he has to earn it.

It's one thing to develop prospects slowly, but if they show they're ready then you have to give them an opportunity. Nothing worse than doing everything coaches and management wants and still getting sent down. That is one of the reasons Baertschi's development was slowed.

Virtanen won't be given a free ride because of where he was drafted either. These guys are going to have to battle it out for the limited spots available.

[Gaudette Celly]

I'm not looking forward to watching a hard working team that doesn't have enough offence and has trouble winning games. It'd be nice to find that Sedins-like balance between the old WCE days and a team full of 200 ft players.

Either you're not paying attention to what's going on, or you're one of those out in the cloud that can't seem to comprehend what Benning is building. It seems you're caught up in the comic book crowd that idolizes superheroes and believes that's the only way to have success.

[Gaudette Celly]

I can't wait for Virtanen to start making an impact.

If he hits his potential, he's going to be lethal. It's hard not to see him become a 40 goal scorer.

He's got all the tools, many NHL ready. At 19.

Looking forward to the start of the season as well, for if nothing else than to silence all the hand-wringers. Jake's going to make an impact, no doubt, and is exactly what this team needs -- not an ensemble of tiny dancers like Toronto is assembling.