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Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW


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What's the point of having a public forum at all then?

All I'm saying is that if I were building a hockey team for the future, with an ageing star centerman, I'd want to replace him if I got that opportunity and they don't come much better than Nylander.

The kid is leading the Swedish Elite League in points-per-game right now. That's absurd considering the talent and age group he's up against. He may have defensive issues, but he's a +3 on a MODO team that is -10, and besides, defence can be taught. You can't teach his skill.

Personally I'd rather have this in the future:

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Jensen - Horvat - Vey

...than this:

Virtanen - Vey - Kassian

Jensen - Horvat - Shinkaruk

Nylander would have given us considerable depth down the middle but more importantly, an elite talent at center. If the last dozen Cup champs have taught us anything, it's that you build a Cup winning team and franchise around a good centerman and depth at center, not a star winger.

I personally also wanted Nylander at the draft. Great speed and vision. He is playing great in Sweden, and looks like a good pick for Toronto. Having said that I am converted to the Virtanen camp. He was the youngest player in the draft im pretty sure.. Hes big and strong, hes the fastest player in the CHL and he can score in any way imaginable. He will be a force. You should either cheer for the Leafs or realize Virtanen is also a good prospect.

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I personally also wanted Nylander at the draft. Great speed and vision. He is playing great in Sweden, and looks like a good pick for Toronto. Having said that I am converted to the Virtanen camp. He was the youngest player in the draft im pretty sure.. Hes big and strong, hes the fastest player in the CHL and he can score in any way imaginable. He will be a force. You should either cheer for the Leafs or realize Virtanen is also a good prospect.

amen

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I personally also wanted Nylander at the draft. Great speed and vision. He is playing great in Sweden, and looks like a good pick for Toronto. Having said that I am converted to the Virtanen camp. He was the youngest player in the draft im pretty sure.. Hes big and strong, hes the fastest player in the CHL and he can score in any way imaginable. He will be a force. You should either cheer for the Leafs or realize Virtanen is also a good prospect.

I never said Virtanen wasn't a good prospect - he'll probably be our best forward in about 5 years time. He's a #6 pick for a reason and if we hadn't taken him, he would have gone in the top-10 anyway.

What I'm trying to say is simply this: our needs in the future aren't another scoring winger. We will need a top-end center to replace Henrik Sedin when he's on the down-swing. Nylander was our best shot at that. Now unless Virtanen can learn to play center, Benning better start the hunt for a future top center because that's the sort of player you build a team around.

I know he's a smart GM, and he was clearly going for Reinhart in his Shinkaruk + 1st + Higgins trade proposal for the first overall which is why I have faith in him to get us that center, but it just seems like a missed opportunity letting Nylander slip. Obviously he's got a bit of risk, being such a skilled, smaller forward, but the Sedins would have turned him into a true professional.

As for McCann and Cassels, it'd be great if they turned out to be our future top line center but there's much less probability of that happening than Nylander becoming a first line center. They're both talented forwards who are playing well as overagers, but Nylander would have fit the bill to perfection.

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I never said Virtanen wasn't a good prospect - he'll probably be our best forward in about 5 years time. He's a #6 pick for a reason and if we hadn't taken him, he would have gone in the top-10 anyway.

What I'm trying to say is simply this: our needs in the future aren't another scoring winger. We will need a top-end center to replace Henrik Sedin when he's on the down-swing. Nylander was our best shot at that. Now unless Virtanen can learn to play center, Benning better start the hunt for a future top center because that's the sort of player you build a team around.

I know he's a smart GM, and he was clearly going for Reinhart in his Shinkaruk + 1st + Higgins trade proposal for the first overall which is why I have faith in him to get us that center, but it just seems like a missed opportunity letting Nylander slip. Obviously he's got a bit of risk, being such a skilled, smaller forward, but the Sedins would have turned him into a true professional.

As for McCann and Cassels, it'd be great if they turned out to be our future top line center but there's much less probability of that happening than Nylander becoming a first line center. They're both talented forwards who are playing well as overagers, but Nylander would have fit the bill to perfection.

This is one of the main reasons I wanted to draft Nylander originally. You make some good points, but Nylander is better off in the East, where its more offensive and less physical. Virtanen is made for the West and the playoffs, and has Corey Perry type upside.

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Reinhart is from Vancouver. He should have been ranked 6th too, I guess.

FWIW, NHL Central Scouting had Virtanen 6th among NA skaters, TSN had him ranked 7th, ISS had him 10th, THN had him 11th, and he went 12th in a HF mock draft.

Cant compare Reinhart and Virtanen...

only central scouting ranked him as 6th.Button ranked him as 41 :bigblush:

Next Raffi Torres! LOL :picard:

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For those big on Nylander, just wait and see, he will be their next Tlusty.

Toronto will probably mess up his development, and their team lacks a good mentor for him. Nylander would have become a star in Vancouver playing under the Sedins (and maybe even with them at times) which is why comparing how he will be to how good he could have been is difficult.

As for those saying Nylander is too weak and not fit for the "tougher West", the same was said about Henrik and Daniel Sedin in a time when the league was much rougher. They started their careers playing against men in the Swedish League, took an absolute pounding in their first 3 seasons in the NHL but as they developed and grew they learned to battle back and are IMO two of the toughest players in the game today.

If the scrawny Sedin twins can develop into superstars and compete in the physical West, there's no reason Nylander couldn't learn from them and do the same.

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I never said Virtanen wasn't a good prospect - he'll probably be our best forward in about 5 years time. He's a #6 pick for a reason and if we hadn't taken him, he would have gone in the top-10 anyway.

What I'm trying to say is simply this: our needs in the future aren't another scoring winger. We will need a top-end center to replace Henrik Sedin when he's on the down-swing. Nylander was our best shot at that. Now unless Virtanen can learn to play center, Benning better start the hunt for a future top center because that's the sort of player you build a team around.

I know he's a smart GM, and he was clearly going for Reinhart in his Shinkaruk + 1st + Higgins trade proposal for the first overall which is why I have faith in him to get us that center, but it just seems like a missed opportunity letting Nylander slip. Obviously he's got a bit of risk, being such a skilled, smaller forward, but the Sedins would have turned him into a true professional.

As for McCann and Cassels, it'd be great if they turned out to be our future top line center but there's much less probability of that happening than Nylander becoming a first line center. They're both talented forwards who are playing well as overagers, but Nylander would have fit the bill to perfection.

Neither Cassels nor McCaan are considered overagers. Cassels has just begun his +2 draft year and is one month older than Bo Horvat who is not old enough to play In the AHL. He is one full hockey season removed from his draft year.

And Jared McCaan was drafted 4 months ago...

Edited by Canorth
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I never said Virtanen wasn't a good prospect - he'll probably be our best forward in about 5 years time. He's a #6 pick for a reason and if we hadn't taken him, he would have gone in the top-10 anyway.

What I'm trying to say is simply this: our needs in the future aren't another scoring winger. We will need a top-end center to replace Henrik Sedin when he's on the down-swing. Nylander was our best shot at that. Now unless Virtanen can learn to play center, Benning better start the hunt for a future top center because that's the sort of player you build a team around.

I know he's a smart GM, and he was clearly going for Reinhart in his Shinkaruk + 1st + Higgins trade proposal for the first overall which is why I have faith in him to get us that center, but it just seems like a missed opportunity letting Nylander slip. Obviously he's got a bit of risk, being such a skilled, smaller forward, but the Sedins would have turned him into a true professional.

As for McCann and Cassels, it'd be great if they turned out to be our future top line center but there's much less probability of that happening than Nylander becoming a first line center. They're both talented forwards who are playing well as overagers, but Nylander would have fit the bill to perfection.

Is this a joke? Is this a freaking joke?

You can stop anytime now, because clearly, you are completely ill-informed.

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If Nylander took it on the chin like Kass did last night, he'd never play in the NHL again.

thats why the leaves sent him back to Sweden to save his life. They should've picked Nick Ritche, this is looking like Patrick White all over again for Nonis.
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thats why the leaves sent him back to Sweden to save his life. They should've picked Nick Ritche, this is looking like Patrick White all over again for Nonis.

Ritchie has a higher bust factor than virtanen.

Ritchie is bigger but virtanen has size too.

Virtanen:

Better shot

Better skater

Better conditioning

Equal defensively?

Equal hockey sense

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Ritchie has a higher bust factor than virtanen.

Ritchie is bigger but virtanen has size too.

Virtanen:

Better shot

Better skater

Better conditioning

Equal defensively?

Equal hockey sense

Virtanen wasn't on the board when it was time for the leafs to pick so what's your point? Virtanen's shot is not that much better than Ritchie's and Ritchie's hockey sense is quite a bit better than Virtanen's. He is the kind of player the Leafs need

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Nylander won't play centre in the NHL. His game is suited for the wing at the NHL, which is why he has played a lot more wing over the past couple years then centre.

Jake on the other hand is likely right now the best athlete in the entire Canucks organization right now, and he'll only get bigger, stronger and faster.

He'll be a good NHL player for a long time.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/114049/hitmen-forward-virtanens-shoulder-looking-just-fine/

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I hear Virtanen has HORRIBLE hockey IQ

You don't score 45 goals with horrible hockey IQ.

The belief about him is that he doesn't use his teammates enough.

The fact that he has twice as many assists as goals so far this season might mean he's working on that.

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