Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Down by the River]

What I don't get is why people like Goose and the FifthLine spend so much time talking about how they don't like a player. The amount of time wasted on negative energy is pretty sad IMO. If I didn't particularly like a player, I'd never think to run onto CDC and talk about how bad he is, yet you guys have been doing this for two years. Don't you get tired of doing the same thing over and over again?

[Odd.]

25 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

He doesn't need an excuse it was one game. 

This.

 

[Canorth]

56 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

Good lord I find it so amusing how everyone is surprisingly disappointed in Jakes game today, you people need to realize that this has been going on for awhile now.  This isn't just a case of Jake having a bad game, this is a case of Jake just isn't a good player.  He's a good skater, that's it, his fore checking is solid but again that has most to due with his speed.  He's not intense, he's not tough, he can't cycle, he follows the puck in the D zone like it's timbit hockey, his hockey sense is atrocious.  I have never seen such a one dimensional player in my life.

He sure does mesmerize coaches with his speed because for whatever reason they keep trotting him out there, he's the least skilled player on the team and IMO he is the last guy who should be on the ice when we need to make a play to get a goal.  This kids life is just being gift wrapped for him.  It must be nice. 

I'm prepared to receive the "give it time he's a power forward, the potential is there"  blah blah blah. What potential could you have possibly seen in the last 3 months including today?  

It's beyond me how anybody can look at this and take it seriously. Such a transparent attempt to irritate. Remove the condescending tone, the know-it-all self-righteousness, pull out all the straw and the only thing that makes sense is the "Blah blah blah"....

Edited December 26, 2015 by Canorth

[Gaudette Celly]

No points.  Epic failure.

Boeser + Virtanen = busts. Wasted picks, future's bleak.

#firebenning

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

56 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

Good lord I find it so amusing how everyone is surprisingly disappointed in Jakes game today, you people need to realize that this has been going on for awhile now.  This isn't just a case of Jake having a bad game, this is a case of Jake just isn't a good player.  He's a good skater, that's it, his fore checking is solid but again that has most to due with his speed.  He's not intense, he's not tough, he can't cycle, he follows the puck in the D zone like it's timbit hockey, his hockey sense is atrocious.  I have never seen such a one dimensional player in my life.

He sure does mesmerize coaches with his speed because for whatever reason they keep trotting him out there, he's the least skilled player on the team and IMO he is the last guy who should be on the ice when we need to make a play to get a goal.  This kids life is just being gift wrapped for him.  It must be nice. 

I'm prepared to receive the "give it time he's a power forward, the potential is there"  blah blah blah. What potential could you have possibly seen in the last 3 months including today?  

 

 

I agree he played terrible today, I commented too but if he had a good game I don't see you posting three paragraphs worth of good things about him. The negative things you say, you've said it countless of times. How many times do you have to post the same thing to get your points across? "He lacks IQ", "he has no intensity", "can't cycle"(which I disagree with his cycling game is the most improved IMO). 

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

Just now, The 5th Line said:

Monday vs Denmark   

Points = Wow great player!  Benning got us a gem

Atleast were positive about our prospects!

[Alflives]

4 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

You know those people (you may be one of them) who hang out in the GDT or the ones on the facebook comments that continuiously slam our players when they perform poorly, or slam our team for having a lack of talent.  I just do things differently, I go straight to the source of our problem.  Our drafting and developing is and always has been one of the worst in the NHL and we finally get a chance to snag a top end talent but no we take the kid who constantly plays a poor, useless game. We pick a player who has shown good speed, but what else?    This is a player who we now have to deal with for the next 10-15 years (that's a long time).

I try not to be negative but it's hard when I read ridiculous comments consisting of people who are actually still trying to make up excuses on why they think Jake is playing poorly right now or the comments from people who actually have the nerve to say he looks good out there...

He wasn't awful out there today imo but I was still frustrated watching him take shots from the goal line, making risky passes and floating around.  I thought he was our big strong power forward who just needs time to develop?  I thought he was supposed to dominate these 17-19 year olds?

 

For myself the issue is not with the criticism of Jake.  All our players are open to criticism.  It's the claim that Nylander or Ehlers are elite skill players.  IMHAO, neither of these two will become elite NHL difference makers on a Cup team's core.  Do for myself, there is no issue with criticizing JV.  I have issue with stating as fact that these other two players are elite skill players, who will be top NHL difference makers.  This is why I always bring up the comparisons to Lynden Vey for Nylander and Sven Baerchi for Ehlers.  Those two guys are exactly what we don't want to draft in the 6th spot.  

[Gaudette Celly]

5 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

Monday vs Denmark   

Points = Wow great player!  Benning got us a gem

But there you are, the "balance".  Just like Lolclarkson.

 

[The-Gooch]

1 hour ago, The 5th Line said:

Good lord I find it so amusing how everyone is surprisingly disappointed in Jakes game today, you people need to realize that this has been going on for awhile now.  This isn't just a case of Jake having a bad game, this is a case of Jake just isn't a good player.  He's a good skater, that's it, his fore checking is solid but again that has most to due with his speed.  He's not intense, he's not tough, he can't cycle, he follows the puck in the D zone like it's timbit hockey, his hockey sense is atrocious.  I have never seen such a one dimensional player in my life.

He sure does mesmerize coaches with his speed because for whatever reason they keep trotting him out there, he's the least skilled player on the team and IMO he is the last guy who should be on the ice when we need to make a play to get a goal.  This kids life is just being gift wrapped for him.  It must be nice. 

I'm prepared to receive the "give it time he's a power forward, the potential is there"  blah blah blah. What potential could you have possibly seen in the last 3 months including today?  

 

 

Bit harsh dude! Not in on the bashing or praising of Virtanen. Yes he's was not impressive today but to call him a bust at his age??? Would I like to see more?...hell yes! I trust people like Benning and co have a bit more knowledge in that field then we do. Yet again I do expect more from Virtanen and hope he's going to show it. 

[Odd.]

I'm done. 

I cannot stand these know it all's. Virtanen didn't have a great game. But didn't have a bad one as well. What about Marner? He was soft as butter and gave up the puck a few times. Perlini? Lost the puck too many times, felt a little slow, and couldn't pass. It wasn't only Virtanen who had a bad game. Nobody played spectacular today. Nobody stood out other than energy line and the Marner line occasionally. 

I can't stand this no more. Many cant stand this bs. It was just one damn game. Calm your balls. Hold it tight. We've still got a game against Denmark. We've still got other teams to play and everyone's already jumping up and down about how bad Virtanen is yadda yadda yaddasdasdassdksjgfhdg.

So before you know it all's suggest Virtanen is a crappy player, a bad player, isn't a good role model because he's the only effing NHL player on that squad in which he didn't get a meaningless, stupid stitched up letter on his left side, whatever tf, sit the hell up and realize this kid is still 19 and has ways to go. He won't be a Crosby, he won't be a Malkin, he won't be a Stamkos, he won't be Seguin, nor a Benn, so please re-examine your expectations and chill the hell out. 

 

 

[Gurn]

"Facts are facts. If you don't agree the sky is blue, you're delusional. "

The ski is not blue, it merely appears that way to the human eye, except at sunrise and sunset when the wavelength of light is longer.

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

2 minutes ago, Odd. said:

I'm done. 

I cannot stand these know it all's. Virtanen didn't have a great game. But didn't have a bad one as well. What about Marner? He was soft as butter and gave up the puck a few times. Perlini? Lost the puck too many times, felt a little slow, and couldn't pass. It wasn't only Virtanen who had a bad game. Nobody played spectacular today. Nobody stood out other than energy line and the Marner line occasionally. 

I can't stand this no more. Many cant stand this bs. It was just one damn game. Calm your balls. Hold it tight. We've still got a game against Denmark. We've still got other teams to play and everyone's already jumping up and down about how bad Virtanen is yadda yadda yaddasdasdassdksjgfhdg.

So before you know it all's suggest Virtanen is a crappy player, a bad player, isn't a good role model because he's the only effing NHL player on that squad in which he didn't get a meaningless, stupid stitched up letter on his left side, whatever tf, sit the hell up and realize this kid is still 19 and has ways to go. He won't be a Crosby, he won't be a Malkin, he won't be a Stamkos, he won't be Seguin, nor a Benn, so please re-examine your expectations and chill the hell out. 

 

 

Dude trips on his feet, fell so many times, had more turnover than Virts, doesn't shoot the puck when he's open and he got one assist and all of a sudden he's GOD. I dont get it lol. So many more players were terrible.

The only player who was consistently  good today was Strome.

Edited December 26, 2015 by CANUCK-EXPRESS

[Odd.]

Is 'you're delusional' the new way to diss people on CDC?

If so, stop using it. It' so damn stupid.

[aGENT]

2 hours ago, Down by the River said:

Its been a game where NOBODY on offense has played particularly well, because it has been an extremely tight game. Virt is at least creating offensive chances. 

Yeah,early in these tournaments you don't tend to see a lot of refined play making given they're a bunch of kids who've largely never played together. 

[Spotted Zebra]

12 minutes ago, Odd. said:

I'm done. 

I cannot stand these know it all's. Virtanen didn't have a great game. But didn't have a bad one as well. What about Marner? He was soft as butter and gave up the puck a few times. Perlini? Lost the puck too many times, felt a little slow, and couldn't pass. It wasn't only Virtanen who had a bad game. Nobody played spectacular today. Nobody stood out other than energy line and the Marner line occasionally. 

I can't stand this no more. Many cant stand this bs. It was just one damn game. Calm your balls. Hold it tight. We've still got a game against Denmark. We've still got other teams to play and everyone's already jumping up and down about how bad Virtanen is yadda yadda yaddasdasdassdksjgfhdg.

So before you know it all's suggest Virtanen is a crappy player, a bad player, isn't a good role model because he's the only effing NHL player on that squad in which he didn't get a meaningless, stupid stitched up letter on his left side, whatever tf, sit the hell up and realize this kid is still 19 and has ways to go. He won't be a Crosby, he won't be a Malkin, he won't be a Stamkos, he won't be Seguin, nor a Benn, so please re-examine your expectations and chill the hell out. 

 

 

What exactly are you going to take from his game against Denmark? This was the toughest game of the pre round robbin stage, and Jake had a poor game if you want to go easy on him. Having said that he had a great game before against Sweden. 

You say re-examine expectations, but have not had a pick that high since the Sedins, you needed to hit that pick out of the park. Everyone talks about rebuild on the fly. The 6th overall pick in that draft class was your golden ticket. Hey if he doesn't turn out we will have a few more so we can thank him for that. 

I'm not saying give up on him, in fact I think he will turn into a serviceable player, AFTER he spends next year and the year after in the AHL. 

What's irritating, is that you have guys like Brendan Gaunce and Hunter Shinkrauk, who have put in the time in the minors, struggled, only to succeed, and then you have Jake who has been gifted a spot on the team, because management needs to sell tickets. 

[BobSacamano]

I saw a bunch of kids squeezing their sticks a little too tight today, some trying to be the hero when it was tied and then when they were down (Vitanen included). They'll settle down and start to play better. Such pressure is put on these kids (a byproduct of TSN having the rights) and its overloaded today because it was the Americans and not some team like Belarus, which they'd blow out. They'll be fine. Jake will be fine. 

[McCannon]

29 minutes ago, The 5th Line said:

I'm not calling him a bust, that would be silly.  What I meant by him not being a good player is he is not as good as a player as a lot of people around here are trying to make him out to be.  IMO

Go read my initial post on Jake. He is a very good player but needs to start taking initiative with the puck. I am not sure if his tentativeness has come from trying to play a perfect 200ft game like the Nucks wanted him to in order to stick (my guess is it is), but he certainly isn't playing the way he was in his draft year offensively.

We can see he has a great shot, accurate, hard, fast release. Has great speed, is extremely physical. What he is missing right now is what got him drafted - that drive to the net, force others to take penalties on him, crash the crease kind of play.

He was never a deft stick handler so don't expect that from him, he can play defensively pretty well.

In my previous post I mentioned it seems like he is playing too safe and as a support player because that's what the coaches in Vancouver wanted out of him and he wants to be in the pros. The issue is, and reason they sent him to the WJC is they want him to not only play smart defensively but to now add back his tenaciousness and drive in the offensive zone - to start driving the play so to speak which he has shown he can do.

Jake has been doing what he's been coached to do, as a young player this often happens, where in order to improve one dimension of their game (usually defense) , the offense suffers because they start playing too conservatively, Bo did the same thing last year for the first 1/2 of the season don't forget that. The only difference was people could point to his unreal face off percentage as some stat to say hey he's playing great - Wingers don't have a stat like that.

All he needs is to get a little fired up and realize the leash he thinks he's on right now, isn't there...Once he does he will emerge. The kid in 18 years old man - calling him a bust or close to after seeing him bowl over NHL'ers, seeing some of his goals is completely ABSURD.

You realize getzlaf and perry and many many others went back to Junior in their overage year right? Were they busts?

People in this city need to realize players take TIME to develop. Many here seem to think every first round player needs to step in and show flashes of being a potential 40 goal man - its absurd. Give the kid time.

Edited December 26, 2015 by McCannon

[McCannon]

7 minutes ago, Spotted Zebra said:

What exactly are you going to take from his game against Denmark? This was the toughest game of the pre round robbin stage, and Jake had a poor game if you want to go easy on him. Having said that he had a great game before against Sweden. 

You say re-examine expectations, but have not had a pick that high since the Sedins, you needed to hit that pick out of the park. Everyone talks about rebuild on the fly. The 6th overall pick in that draft class was your golden ticket. Hey if he doesn't turn out we will have a few more so we can thank him for that. 

I'm not saying give up on him, in fact I think he will turn into a serviceable player, AFTER he spends next year and the year after in the AHL. 

What's irritating, is that you have guys like Brendan Gaunce and Hunter Shinkrauk, who have put in the time in the minors, struggled, only to succeed, and then you have Jake who has been gifted a spot on the team, because management needs to sell tickets. 

Jake was not given a spot in the NHL because they need to sell tickets. It was the Nucks view that like Bo he was physically ready and if they COULD have they would have sent him to the AHL but they couldn't.

He was a tweener like Bo, so they thought, better to oversee his development here vs junior. If they could have sent him to the Comets I think most here would agree they would have but they couldn't because of his age and eligibility issues/CHL issues.

Don't make up nonsense because you prefer other players over Jake at this stage. People don't go to Canucks games to see Virtanen play 8 minutes a game man, he's not Pavel Bure. Give your head a shake.

[Tystick]

29 minutes ago, Odd. said:

I'm done. 

I cannot stand these know it all's. Virtanen didn't have a great game. But didn't have a bad one as well. What about Marner? He was soft as butter and gave up the puck a few times. Perlini? Lost the puck too many times, felt a little slow, and couldn't pass. It wasn't only Virtanen who had a bad game. Nobody played spectacular today. Nobody stood out other than energy line and the Marner line occasionally. 

I can't stand this no more. Many cant stand this bs. It was just one damn game. Calm your balls. Hold it tight. We've still got a game against Denmark. We've still got other teams to play and everyone's already jumping up and down about how bad Virtanen is yadda yadda yaddasdasdassdksjgfhdg.

So before you know it all's suggest Virtanen is a crappy player, a bad player, isn't a good role model because he's the only effing NHL player on that squad in which he didn't get a meaningless, stupid stitched up letter on his left side, whatever tf, sit the hell up and realize this kid is still 19 and has ways to go. He won't be a Crosby, he won't be a Malkin, he won't be a Stamkos, he won't be Seguin, nor a Benn, so please re-examine your expectations and chill the hell out. 

 

 

Love it.

Many haters expectations of this kid are far too high. He has the potential to be a physical, offensive top 6 forward.

People need to be patient.

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

13 minutes ago, Spotted Zebra said:

What exactly are you going to take from his game against Denmark? This was the toughest game of the pre round robbin stage, and Jake had a poor game if you want to go easy on him. Having said that he had a great game before against Sweden. 

You say re-examine expectations, but have not had a pick that high since the Sedins, you needed to hit that pick out of the park. Everyone talks about rebuild on the fly. The 6th overall pick in that draft class was your golden ticket. Hey if he doesn't turn out we will have a few more so we can thank him for that. 

I'm not saying give up on him, in fact I think he will turn into a serviceable player, AFTER he spends next year and the year after in the AHL. 

What's irritating, is that you have guys like Brendan Gaunce and Hunter Shinkrauk, who have put in the time in the minors, struggled, only to succeed, and then you have Jake who has been gifted a spot on the team, because management needs to sell tickets. 

Ok that's the managements fault, don't get mad at Jake for it.