Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Cowardrobertford]

7 minutes ago, Edlerberry said:

this is why you draft from the london knights

Totally, I don't get how Virtanen went so high up to 6th.

[DeNiro]

11 minutes ago, Edlerberry said:

this is why you draft from the london knights

There was no player in the first round from the Knights in Virtanen's draft year.

Not sure what that has to do with us drafting Virtanen.

[Edlerberry]

3 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

There was no player in the first round from the Knights in Virtanen's draft year.

Not sure what that has to do with us drafting Virtanen.

doesnt work every year

[The Lock]

2 hours ago, Ihatetomatoes said:

I'm not going to dig through interviews and such to find the exact quote but it went along the line of "we now have guys in the lineup that are young and inexperienced that are being worked with to move the development along sooner".  It makes sense from a gms perspective as he knows he needs to try and get something out of this team before the Sedins retire. I think he's hoping that giving spots to McCann and Virtanen now they can be developed a rapid pace. It makes sense with  what he's said and what is happening with the team, also why virtanen got a spot over Gaunce who looked better in the preseason and has paid his dues in the AHL. I can see it working with McCann because he has that competitive fire and the smarts to learn and get better,  you don't hear people saying  he needs to go down. (i still think it would be better but he is competitive here and getting better). But Virtanen is different and more raw and IMO has a higher chance of stalling in development being in the NHL. 

 

It's your opinion and you're entitled to it. However, none of this has changed my perspective on it really. I think Virtanen will develop just fine. He just needs time. I do read other people's arguments. I don't feel convinced that Virtanen would fair better in the minors. He's a unique beast in that regard.

I'd rather just agree to disagree at this point and see what happens.

Edited December 5, 2015 by The Lock

[Lui's Knob]

Virtanen needs someone to feed him the puck which we don't have. Needs a year in the A if that was possible 

[Derp...]

He should be able to go on a conditioning stint and get some bigger ice time hopefully

[Alflives]

22 minutes ago, Lui's Knob said:

Virtanen needs someone to feed him the puck which we don't have. Needs a year in the A if that was possible 

Maybe he ends up in Utica next season?

[desiboynux4lifee*******]

24 minutes ago, Lui's Knob said:

Virtanen needs someone to feed him the puck which we don't have. Needs a year in the A if that was possible 

mathews 

[IamHomer]

On 12/4/2015, 3:28:22, Sandro17 said:

I think the problem is that Benning has to choose whether to develop this guy in the juniors or the NHL when in reality JVs best learning curve per game is most likely in the AHL which hes too young for.

 

JB probably does want to have Jake grow as much as possible but calculated that he'll do his best growth in the NHL where its easier to keep an eye on him. I'm sure if Virtanen were allowed, he'd be placed there. Its too bad that it isn't an option right now.

Whats wrong with him playing in the juniors, Virtanen was only barely above ppg in his last season in the WHL. Lmao Tom Sestito was also barely above ppg in his last season in the juniors.

[Sandro17]

2 hours ago, IamHomer said:

Whats wrong with him playing in the juniors, Virtanen was only barely above ppg in his last season in the WHL. Lmao Tom Sestito was also barely above ppg in his last season in the juniors.

Well assuming I'm correct then you should probably ask that question to Jim Benning. I'm not the one making the calculations for growth here, Benning is.

 

Although it probably has a lot to do with him being able to get tips and pointers from vets, have our management team keep an eye on him and for him to understand what is expected of him in the NHL. 

 

[ice orca]

2 hours ago, Sandro17 said:

Well assuming I'm correct then you should probably ask that question to Jim Benning. I'm not the one making the calculations for growth here, Benning is.

 

Although it probably has a lot to do with him being able to get tips and pointers from vets, have our management team keep an eye on him and for him to understand what is expected of him in the NHL. 

 

With the way our vet's have been playing recently you want him to pick up pointers from them?

[Sandro17]

6 hours ago, ice orca said:

With the way our vet's have been playing recently you want him to pick up pointers from them?

Recent play doesn't dictate your ability to teach. The best coaches in the NHL have never seen top line minutes, but their ability to see and teach the game is very relevant.

Just because a vet has been playing poorly doesn't mean he can't accelerate somebody's learning curve. It doesn't work that way.

[The Lock]

9 hours ago, ice orca said:

With the way our vet's have been playing recently you want him to pick up pointers from them?

Would you rather us play like Edmonton, with no veteran leadership, for the next 5 years (or more)? That's the alternative.

Edited December 7, 2015 by The Lock

[ice orca]

19 minutes ago, The Lock said:

Would you rather us play like Edmonton, with no veteran leadership, for the next 5 years (or more)? That's the alternative.

We are not going to compete for anything in the next 5 years anyway vets or not. Might as well get rid of the ones that are just lawn ornaments.

[The Lock]

Just now, ice orca said:

We are not going to compete for anything in the next 5 years anyway vets or not. Might as well get rid of the ones that are just lawn ornaments.

I seriously don't understand this mentality. We've seen teams like Edmonton, Florida, Columbus,, etc get stuck in the bottom have for a decade or more. The last thing I'd want to see is us joining them.

So just no. The risk is just not worth it in my opinion.

[DeNiro]

2 hours ago, The Lock said:

Would you rather us play like Edmonton, with no veteran leadership, for the next 5 years (or more)? That's the alternative.

Outside of the Sedins I'm not seeing much veteran leadership right now.

Unless they're trying to teach them how to be passengers on a team.

Certain guys need to step up or get out of the way. There's players who are hungry who will actually play hard for their ice time.

[The Lock]

1 minute ago, DeNiro said:

Outside of the Sedins I'm not seeing much veteran leadership right now.

Unless they're trying to teach them how to be passengers on a team.

Certain guys need to step up or get out of the way. There's players who are hungry who will actually play hard for their ice time.

Kind of hard to know for certain what goes on unless if you're in the locker room though don't you think?

And really, just because the team's been playing poorly lately, it doesn't mean the vets are "sending the wrong message". While what they do on the ice can play an important part, it's not the only part of leadership. I think, because fans only see what happens on the ice, it's easy for fans to immediately think that leadership is all on the ice. It's not.

[DeNiro]

4 minutes ago, The Lock said:

Kind of hard to know for certain what goes on unless if you're in the locker room though don't you think?

And really, just because the team's been playing poorly lately, it doesn't mean the vets are "sending the wrong message". While what they do on the ice can play an important part, it's not the only part of leadership. I think, because fans only see what happens on the ice, it's easy for fans to immediately think that leadership is all on the ice. It's not.

I want leaders that lead on and off the ice like the Sedins. I don't care how friendly they are off the ice.

If these guys were such great mentors you would think our young guys would be benefiting from it. So far I see guys like Virtanen, Baertschi, and Horvat struggling big time. And the message I've seen sent on the ice is to play dirty when you're losing, not stand up from your teammates, and only play hard for a fraction of games.

Edited December 7, 2015 by DeNiro

[The Lock]

Just now, DeNiro said:

I want leaders that lead on and off the ice like the Sedins. I don't care how friendly they are off the ice.

If these guys were such great mentors you would think our young guys would be benefiting from it. So far I see guys like Virtanen, Baertschi, and Horvat struggling big time.

Except it's the whole team struggling. Right now, we can't really be blaming a single person. It's a team sport and we should be blaming the team. While we could use a couple of them to step up more, these situations are often easier to critique than to actually do. It's easier said than done, whether we like it or not.

I'm also not talking about how friendly they are. I'm talking about their mentorship and what they're telling them on and off the ice. That's the part we're not going to be able to see. We don't know what happens in the locker room. We don't know what happens during practices.

Keep in mind, we saw Horvat being brought up by the same leadership last year. He thrived. To say these same people are not leader now and that this whole deficit is about leadership? I'm not buying it.

[The Lock]

I think the funny thing about most of these conversations: we're 2 of 6 months into the season. We have 4 more months that could go a completely different direction. In the next 4 months, we'll see if this team has the ability to overcome hardship or not. If they do, I'll be laughing at the people changing their tune. If they don't, I'll be laughing at the consistently weird influx of trade proposals people come up with.....

.....I think I need more laughing gas.....