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Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW


avelanch

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I have watched Virtanen these past few games. His skating ability as well as his shot is truly impressive. We really don't have players with shoot-first mentality.

Only problem last few games was that he made a few sloppy plays in his own zone which led to a goal. I think that game was in Medicine Hat. Still, he's used on the PK and is very reliable.

I have watched JV quite a bit since he 14. His defense is not great, think Kassian, but his offensive upside and tools make him a dynamic, think a tuned down Neely.

He absolutely could be the best power forward in the game someday, but he will never lead in plus/minus.

He shoots first, skates first, hits first, scores first and then looks to pass and back check. With the right center,think Hull and Oates, he could pot 50.

His defense will need a lot of work and could get him benched. His hockey IQ is likely okay, his offensive IQ is high. The first time he steam rolls someone in Vancouver it will be love forever. He was destroying kids (physically) 4 years older than him when he was 14.

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If Lazar isn't playing a lot of minutes and isn't a producer in this next month or so, Ottawa should absolutely lend him out.

Fredrik Gauthier? Pffffffffft

It sounds like Ottawa is nothing but impressed by the way Lazar has been playing this far and he's played his way up their line-up. It's a bit of a different situation than the Canucks with Bo because Ottawa doesn't have a whole lot of additional depth.

Also, I could see McCann beating out Gauthier. Button completely ignores McCann and left him off his list of contenders.

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There was a game today apparently. Hitmen beat the Raiders 4-2.

No points for Jake who was also -1, collected 2 PIMS, and had 3 SOG.

Of note: His current streak of 5 games without a goal is longer than his longest goalless streak of last season (4 games). That sounds a lot worse than it is since he has 6 points in 7 games coming back from his shoulder rehab. And by the Hitmen's Twitter feed over the past few games, he has been able to generate chances. He's been robbed by some gloves and posts.

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It sounds like Ottawa is nothing but impressed by the way Lazar has been playing this far and he's played his way up their line-up. It's a bit of a different situation than the Canucks with Bo because Ottawa doesn't have a whole lot of additional depth.

Also, I could see McCann beating out Gauthier. Button completely ignores McCann and left him off his list of contenders.

Gauthier is known more as a shutdown centremen, so maybe that's why Button has him pencilled in. That doesn't make sense imo because if you have Horvat on the team, there's your shutdown centre. The biggest issue with Canada the past 2 tournaments has been lack of offensive creativity. Need more offensive stars on the team.

Mitch Marner should be in consideration for a wing position as well. Kid has sick speed and dangles.


Edited by Tambellini's Wrist Shot
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I have watched JV quite a bit since he 14. His defense is not great, think Kassian, but his offensive upside and tools make him a dynamic, think a tuned down Neely.

He absolutely could be the best power forward in the game someday, but he will never lead in plus/minus.

He shoots first, skates first, hits first, scores first and then looks to pass and back check. With the right center,think Hull and Oates, he could pot 50.

His defense will need a lot of work and could get him benched. His hockey IQ is likely okay, his offensive IQ is high. The first time he steam rolls someone in Vancouver it will be love forever. He was destroying kids (physically) 4 years older than him when he was 14.

He does play on the PK though, right? I would have thought he was at least somewhat responsible defensively. Or is he just there to exploit 1-3-1 powerplays using his speed?

It sounds like Ottawa is nothing but impressed by the way Lazar has been playing this far and he's played his way up their line-up. It's a bit of a different situation than the Canucks with Bo because Ottawa doesn't have a whole lot of additional depth.

Also, I could see McCann beating out Gauthier. Button completely ignores McCann and left him off his list of contenders.

Gauthier is better suited to play the grinding-shutdown role on the 4th line. He's 6'4" which helps as well. On a side note, I noticed that Gauthier has only played in 4 games this year but isn't listed as injured on HockeyDB or EliteProspects. He only has 1 point (a goal) in those 4 games which is pretty underwhelming considering he is in his draft year +2 and the rest of the team has put up a boatload of points.

Gauthier is known more as a shutdown centremen, so maybe that's why Button has him pencilled in. That doesn't make sense imo because if you have Horvat on the team, there's your shutdown centre. The biggest issue with Canada the past 2 tournaments has been lack of offensive creativity. Need more offensive stars on the team.

Mitch Marner should be in consideration for a wing position as well. Kid has sick speed and dangles.

The projected lineup is including players who are guaranteed to be available for the tournament. The note "Availability to be determined" is part of his article as well. If those players are able to join the WJ squad, you can be sure they will get a spot, which in turn means that someone on that lineup is bumped off.

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His assist numbers. People aren't very smart so forgive them.

If you have too many assists people complain that you are to dumb to score goals. or secondary assists don't really mean anything. If people don't like a player because of whatever reason all they look for is the negatives.

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Dal Colle - McDavid - Reinhart

Virtanen - Petan - Ritchie

Strome - Horvat - Fabbri

Bertuzzi - Gauthier - McCann! (Homer pick)

Nurse - Morrissey

Theodore - Bowey

Sanheim - Subban!

Fleury

* McCann over Greg Chase is reasonable IMO

** Max Domi and Josh Ho-Sang left off - these two probably deserve it but I feel like they'll be overlooked

*** Ekblad, Bowey and McKeown were the only RHDs invited to Team Canada summer camp - with Ekblad in Florida and McKeown not exactly tearing it up, I think they go heavy on the LHDs with Nurse, Morrissey, Theodore, Sanheim and Fleury, and Bowey is as good as a lock with his current play and being a RHD - Subban may sneak in on the 3rd pairing given his hockey name, current play and being a 19-year-old

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Virtanen needs to pick it F up

2 goals in 7.

I wondered if he is re-injured

Or maybe (just maybe) he's out of game shape after not being able to train properly all summer.

He's off to a slow start, just as expected. I'm positive he'll pick it up at some point, but there's nothing to be worried about right now.

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Coming off of rehabilitation for a major injury.

Just 8 games back from rehab.

Producing at 1.00 PPG (2-6-8).

He may not be scoring goals as much as last year (through just 8 games) but he's still producing at the same PPG clip as last season. People were so worried about his "hockey IQ", but now his assists are out scoring his goals by a 3:1 margin and (surprise!) people are now worried about goals.

Edited by Canucks1219
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Jake Virtanen: 2-6-8 in 8 GP in the WHL

William Nylander: 3-8-11 in 8 GP in the SEL

I want Virtanen to prove to me that Benning made the right pick, but he's going to have to produce at well over a point per game in the WHL when kids like Nylander are leading the Swedish Elite League in points per game. Say what you want about Virtanen being more suited for the West and a more physical, tougher guy, he's still playing with children and has had serious shoulder surgery. Nylander is just an inch smaller but is putting up points against fully grown men.

Current stars from the WHL put up around 90-100 at least before impressing at the NHL or AHL level. He's going to have to do much better than he is right now.

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  • -Vintage Canuck- changed the title to Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW
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