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Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW


avelanch

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How would that even work? would we just not have a draft for 2 years?

Yup, pretty simple there just wouldn't be a draft say this year 2016, instead the draft eligible players would be drafted next season 2017. Of course they could hold a first round in 2016, so that Matthews and whoever else is good enough could join the NHL next year.

This is largely a pipe-dream though. Players and their agents want to start making money fast. The draft use to be at 19, I don't they will go back. Alas, emerging advance stats in the junior league should lead to more accurate drafting however I would much prefer a 19 year old draft.

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tell me when virtanen destroys dcorps in playoffs and scores at will in 2-3 yrs nylander wont be as good

I agree with you. We need to measure the value of players to their teams on more than just points. Guys like Jake impact the game in many ways. That's why he is such super prospect. He's like Neely. Nylander, when he's not getting points (which will be too often) does nothing to change a game.

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I stand corrected. His legs look quite heavy too. Thank you for the picture. I am surprised he plays such a soft perimeter game, considering he has some meat on him? I'm sure glad we have Virtanen, who we know will always compete.

... Just because a player isn't a power doesn't make them a perimeter player. Sedins could be considered perimeter players and they have had an incredible amount of success. If it works it works. Obviously u can't have a full team of players that play like that but it's not a bad thing to have a few players like that.

We needed a player like Jake so I'm not complaining.

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... Just because a player isn't a power doesn't make them a perimeter player. Sedins could be considered perimeter players and they have had an incredible amount of success. If it works it works. Obviously u can't have a full team of players that play like that but it's not a bad thing to have a few players like that.

We needed a player like Jake so I'm not complaining.

+1. I watched the leafs, habs game, nylander was in hard on the puck in the corners a lot, but yeah he doesn't lay anyone out. But his puck retrieval is very good. Some on here saying he is soft are off the mark I think. Buut nylander did make more than a few miscues with his passing as jake was criticized for, so no one player far superior just yet.

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Another year of Junior is not going to do anything to get rid of the bad habits that are the main reasons anyone's questioning him making the big club. He needs high level coaching and structure, structure, structure. Guess what's almost entirely absent in Jr?

His best (and sadly unavailable) course would be to go to Utica. Jr. is literally the worst option for him IMO and should only be taken if he's CLEARLY not ready and is not showing any signs of progress/learning/adapting at this level..

Agree completely JR

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+1. I watched the leafs, habs game, nylander was in hard on the puck in the corners a lot, but yeah he doesn't lay anyone out. But his puck retrieval is very good. Some on here saying he is soft are off the mark I think. Buut nylander did make more than a few miscues with his passing as jake was criticized for, so no one player far superior just yet.

Its about which player is best for which organization. Nylander in Van would not have been a good situation. Virt was made for the Pacific.

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I agree with you. We need to measure the value of players to their teams on more than just points. Guys like Jake impact the game in many ways. That's why he is such super prospect. He's like Neely. Nylander, when he's not getting points (which will be too often) does nothing to change a game.

I agree Virtanen is going to be a fantastic powerforward who brings hitting, not that much great defensive play, fantastic speed and a wicked shot with not much playmaking/passing ability. He's a north-south type player and all Cup winning teams need a couple of these guys, especially in the playoffs.

However at the time of the draft, we had Kassian, now we have Boeser as well along with guys like Kenins, Shinkaruk, Horvat and Gaunce who all fill this same niche. My argument is that the Canucks are becoming too one-dimensional, and it's all Benning's plan. He likes toughness and hard hitting forwards, and that's what we're developing, but IMO we're giving up skill and offensive talent for it which is a huge mistake.

On the flipside, the Maple Leafs have gone the other way and drafted a whole bunch of skilled, smaller forwards with brilliant hockey IQ, passing and playmaking ability and talent but no toughness, size or defensive play. Marner, Nylander and Kadri are all essentially the same player. Meanwhile we have Virtanen, Boeser, Gaunce and Horvat. Get where I'm coming from now?

Then go over and look at the Cup winning teams of late. The Blackhawks have the perfect mix of these big, strong powerforwards like Hossa and Saad along with defensive centers like Toews mixed in with purely offensively talented forwards like Kane. Of course they all play a pretty decent all-round game, but they have that top-end offensive talent that I believe the Canucks are missing. We have Baertschi and McCann as our only real chances of an elite offensive talent, and these two guys simply don't match up well against the McDavids, Stromes, Eichels and even Nylanders of the future generation.

I really just hope that Virtanen can up the offence right now. We're probably not trading him and he's going to be our future top-6 winger so he needs to start producing MORE offence. Point per game in juniors simply isn't good enough - almost every single first round forward of the past 3 years has done that. Physicality is great but we can find 3rd line checking grinders who can score 15 goals just about anywhere (hello Dorsett, Prust, Hansen), but we blew a 6th overall pick on this guy so he HAS to be able to score 20-30 goals on a consistent basis, because everyone knows that Nylander is going to be out-producing him offensively. Physicality is great and IMO is an edge on most other forwards, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor for taking a player. Pat Kane, Toews, Sharp or Hossa were never physical beasts at such a young age, they were offensive stars first and now they're part of a dynasty.

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I agree Virtanen is going to be a fantastic powerforward who brings hitting, not that much great defensive play, fantastic speed and a wicked shot with not much playmaking/passing ability. He's a north-south type player and all Cup winning teams need a couple of these guys, especially in the playoffs.

However at the time of the draft, we had Kassian, now we have Boeser as well along with guys like Kenins, Shinkaruk, Horvat and Gaunce who all fill this same niche. My argument is that the Canucks are becoming too one-dimensional, and it's all Benning's plan. He likes toughness and hard hitting forwards, and that's what we're developing, but IMO we're giving up skill and offensive talent for it which is a huge mistake.

On the flipside, the Maple Leafs have gone the other way and drafted a whole bunch of skilled, smaller forwards with brilliant hockey IQ, passing and playmaking ability and talent but no toughness, size or defensive play. Marner, Nylander and Kadri are all essentially the same player. Meanwhile we have Virtanen, Boeser, Gaunce and Horvat. Get where I'm coming from now?

Then go over and look at the Cup winning teams of late. The Blackhawks have the perfect mix of these big, strong powerforwards like Hossa and Saad along with defensive centers like Toews mixed in with purely offensively talented forwards like Kane. Of course they all play a pretty decent all-round game, but they have that top-end offensive talent that I believe the Canucks are missing. We have Baertschi and McCann as our only real chances of an elite offensive talent, and these two guys simply don't match up well against the McDavids, Stromes, Eichels and even Nylanders of the future generation.

I really just hope that Virtanen can up the offence right now. We're probably not trading him and he's going to be our future top-6 winger so he needs to start producing MORE offence. Point per game in juniors simply isn't good enough - almost every single first round forward of the past 3 years has done that. Physicality is great but we can find 3rd line checking grinders who can score 15 goals just about anywhere (hello Dorsett, Prust, Hansen), but we blew a 6th overall pick on this guy so he HAS to be able to score 20-30 goals on a consistent basis, because everyone knows that Nylander is going to be out-producing him offensively. Physicality is great and IMO is an edge on most other forwards, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor for taking a player. Pat Kane, Toews, Sharp or Hossa were never physical beasts at such a young age, they were offensive stars first and now they're part of a dynasty.

Bertschi

Shink

Mccaan

Zhuhkenov

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I agree Virtanen is going to be a fantastic powerforward who brings hitting, not that much great defensive play, fantastic speed and a wicked shot with not much playmaking/passing ability. He's a north-south type player and all Cup winning teams need a couple of these guys, especially in the playoffs.

However at the time of the draft, we had Kassian, now we have Boeser as well along with guys like Kenins, Shinkaruk, Horvat and Gaunce who all fill this same niche. My argument is that the Canucks are becoming too one-dimensional, and it's all Benning's plan. He likes toughness and hard hitting forwards, and that's what we're developing, but IMO we're giving up skill and offensive talent for it which is a huge mistake.

On the flipside, the Maple Leafs have gone the other way and drafted a whole bunch of skilled, smaller forwards with brilliant hockey IQ, passing and playmaking ability and talent but no toughness, size or defensive play. Marner, Nylander and Kadri are all essentially the same player. Meanwhile we have Virtanen, Boeser, Gaunce and Horvat. Get where I'm coming from now?

Then go over and look at the Cup winning teams of late. The Blackhawks have the perfect mix of these big, strong powerforwards like Hossa and Saad along with defensive centers like Toews mixed in with purely offensively talented forwards like Kane. Of course they all play a pretty decent all-round game, but they have that top-end offensive talent that I believe the Canucks are missing. We have Baertschi and McCann as our only real chances of an elite offensive talent, and these two guys simply don't match up well against the McDavids, Stromes, Eichels and even Nylanders of the future generation.

I really just hope that Virtanen can up the offence right now. We're probably not trading him and he's going to be our future top-6 winger so he needs to start producing MORE offence. Point per game in juniors simply isn't good enough - almost every single first round forward of the past 3 years has done that. Physicality is great but we can find 3rd line checking grinders who can score 15 goals just about anywhere (hello Dorsett, Prust, Hansen), but we blew a 6th overall pick on this guy so he HAS to be able to score 20-30 goals on a consistent basis, because everyone knows that Nylander is going to be out-producing him offensively. Physicality is great and IMO is an edge on most other forwards, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor for taking a player. Pat Kane, Toews, Sharp or Hossa were never physical beasts at such a young age, they were offensive stars first and now they're part of a dynasty.

Jake's a 40 point player in his prime IMO. Really hope I'm wrong but he hasn't showed me anything to make me think otherwise. I will run and hide now while the blind homers on here throw stuff at me

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Jake's a 40 point player in his prime IMO. Really hope I'm wrong but he hasn't showed me anything to make me think otherwise. I will run and hide now while the blind homers on here throw stuff at me

Honestly, I dont see many posters claiming hes going to be a top scorer. I think its more about the overall impact he may be able to have on games. Im not saying goals and assists arent important, but that will be one tool in Jake's repertoire.

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Ok so all you can literally tell from the photo is he's fit ... especially standing beside a kid who looks about 13years old. Honestly he looks real small. I have no doubt he could be a terrific player given plenty of smallish types have excelled. Just don't think a photo should make anyone think he's jacked now and Virt was a mistake because the guy is in shape. Long gone are the days when any NHLer isn't fit.

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Jake's a 40 point player in his prime IMO. Really hope I'm wrong but he hasn't showed me anything to make me think otherwise. I will run and hide now while the blind homers on here throw stuff at me

I suggested the same thing and got blasted on here. I see Jake hitting 25 goals in his prime, 25 assists. You win cups with guys like him. But you do NOT build franchises around guys like Virtanen. They are a complementary piece.

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Ok so all you can literally tell from the photo is he's fit ... especially standing beside a kid who looks about 13years old. Honestly he looks real small. I have no doubt he could be a terrific player given plenty of smallish types have excelled. Just don't think a photo should make anyone think he's jacked now and Virt was a mistake because the guy is in shape. Long gone are the days when any NHLer isn't fit.

All I posted the picture for was to show he is not thin or skinny anymore.

If you looked at him last year he was a toothpick, especially at the combine. Nothing like Jake at all. But Nylander put in a lot of work, he has some meat on there now. Virtanen will always be a far more physically dominant player, he is built like a truck, but i think Nylander is far from soft as some posters here put it. He battles in corners hard.

Edited by CanucksFanTillDeath1995
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