Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Tambellini's Wrist Shot]

Hopefully Nylander actually makes the Leafs so we can watch Virtanen make dust from his bones.

Like someone said a few pages back, just imagine Virtanen hitting Nylander.

[Gyllenhaal]

You're wasting your time with these guys. There's no point in talking sense to people who are hell bent on holding on to hope. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but neither will it make the situation any less pathetic.

We wasted the our highest draft pick since the Sedins, and understandably it's kind of hard to take that in.

I wanted us to draft Nylander too but we drafted Virtanen instead. He's a great prospect and could easily turn out to be a better NHL player than Nylander, but I guess your to dim-witted and stubborn to see that.

If you have such a hard on for Nylander go cheer for the leafs.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Like someone said a few pages back, just imagine Virtanen hitting Nylander.

Imagine Nylander deking through Virtanen's legs and scoring.

Big hitters don't win you cups, at the end of the day it's scoring that does it. Obviously you need to be a good mix of both, but like I've said I'd rather take a guy with raw offensive talent like Nylander and teach him a bit of defence (ie. the way the Sedins developed) than get a bigger guy like Virtanen and hope we can knock some pure offensive skill into him (ie. the struggle we're having with Kassian right now).

Just look at kids like Tarasenko and Johnson right now. No one thought they'd be "tough enough" to do well in the NHL, but their skill is embarassing teams right now. Tarasenko had a lot of doubters coming into the NHL and he's proving that skill trumps size.

[Canucks1219]

You're wasting your time with these guys. There's no point in talking sense to people who are hell bent on holding on to hope. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but neither will it make the situation any less pathetic.

We wasted the our highest draft pick since the Sedins, and understandably it's kind of hard to take that in.

Who are you to talk "sense" when you make bold statements like "wasted our highest draft pick..." well before either NHL career is started?

[Tambellini's Wrist Shot]

Imagine Nylander deking through Virtanen's legs and scoring.

Big hitters don't win you cups, at the end of the day it's scoring that does it. Obviously you need to be a good mix of both, but like I've said I'd rather take a guy with raw offensive talent like Nylander and teach him a bit of defence (ie. the way the Sedins developed) than get a bigger guy like Virtanen and hope we can knock some pure offensive skill into him (ie. the struggle we're having with Kassian right now).

Just look at kids like Tarasenko and Johnson right now. No one thought they'd be "tough enough" to do well in the NHL, but their skill is embarassing teams right now. Tarasenko had a lot of doubters coming into the NHL and he's proving that skill trumps size.

"Knock some pure offensive skill into him"

What does 45 goals in 60 some games look like to you? Defensive prowess????

[Canucks1219]

"Knock some pure offensive skill into him"

What does 45 goals in 60 some games look like to you? Defensive prowess????

To be fair, having one of the hardest, most accurate shots in the CHL is a purely defensive skill.

[TheSnipeshow91]

Virtanen has untapped offensive potential, much like Corey Perry did. He's shown some flashes of it early in the season. It's about harnessing that potential now.

[JohnScott]

Imagine Nylander deking through Virtanen's legs and scoring.

Big hitters don't win you cups, at the end of the day it's scoring that does it. Obviously you need to be a good mix of both, but like I've said I'd rather take a guy with raw offensive talent like Nylander and teach him a bit of defence (ie. the way the Sedins developed) than get a bigger guy like Virtanen and hope we can knock some pure offensive skill into him (ie. the struggle we're having with Kassian right now).

Just look at kids like Tarasenko and Johnson right now. No one thought they'd be "tough enough" to do well in the NHL, but their skill is embarassing teams right now. Tarasenko had a lot of doubters coming into the NHL and he's proving that skill trumps size.

Imagine Virtanen knocking 3-4 weeks out of Nylanders career.

[Tambellini's Wrist Shot]

To be fair, having one of the hardest, most accurate shots in the CHL is a purely defensive skill.

Absolutely useless for offensive play.

[Canuck Surfer]

67 points in 51 games for Dubinsky, who was the 60th overall pick.

Morrow scored 85 in 61.

Andrew Ladd is exactly what I hope Virtanen doesn't turn out to become. Ladd was a former 4th overall and struggled mightily in his first few seasons in the league. He was labelled a huge bust and got shipped out of Carolina and only really became a true force after 6 or 7 years in the league. I'd hope Virtanen doesn't end up becoming another Andrew Ladd.

You are thinking about it incorrectly.

Virtually every team in the league would love to have the fully developed Andrew Ladd that is now on offer!

Imagine Nylander deking through Virtanen's legs and scoring.

Big hitters don't win you cups, at the end of the day it's scoring that does it. Obviously you need to be a good mix of both, but like I've said I'd rather take a guy with raw offensive talent like Nylander and teach him a bit of defence (ie. the way the Sedins developed) than get a bigger guy like Virtanen and hope we can knock some pure offensive skill into him (ie. the struggle we're having with Kassian right now).

Just look at kids like Tarasenko and Johnson right now. No one thought they'd be "tough enough" to do well in the NHL, but their skill is embarassing teams right now. Tarasenko had a lot of doubters coming into the NHL and he's proving that skill trumps size.

I can recall a large number of posts by yourself that quote ''defense wins championships." And there is definitely truth there.

As there is truth to skills.

And the component I am going add; size with athleticism!

Now for the record Tarasenko was never a guy someone worried about toughness with. He's a big dude, 219 lbs. Nor is he the elite deceptive dangler and play maker which might tie Tyler Johnson and Nylander somewhat together. Also FTR, I like Nylander. I would have picked him personally. But I still think Virtanen is a great pick!

In most cases its components of all! And its up to coach / management / players to craft a team with match up advantages opponents cannot counter. Whatever those advantages are. There are big mobile defenders, Pronger and Chara come to mind, where skilled guys, even lightning fast ones, cannot seem to break into seams on. Then they get stuck on the boards, even pinned and ineffective.

BTW; Virtanen may not be the puck wizard Nylander is. Nor is Tarasenko. But Virtanen is a highly credible goal scorer with an elite shot. Also explosive speed. A facet rare in a big man. Its that component of speed and goal scoring in a big man that makes him a lot more like Taresenko than different. Don't be surprised if they come out similar?

Hockeys Future on Tarasenko prior to his draft; '' Tarasenko's strongest asset is his goal scoring ability with his quick hands and sudden release. His explosive acceleration allows him to create space." ''A fiery competitor, he plays with grit and tenacity. He is solidly built at 5'11 202 pounds.''

Hockey's Future on Virtanen; ''Key asset is his great acceleration and speed. Moves well laterally without gearing down." "Complete power forward. Shoots the puck hard. Strong along the boards.''

[DownUndaCanuck]

You are thinking about it incorrectly.

Virtually every team in the league would love to have the fully developed Andrew Ladd that is now on offer!

I can recall a large number of posts by yourself that quote ''defense wins championships." And there is definitely truth there.

As there is truth to skills.

And the component I am going add; size with athleticism!

Now for the record Tarasenko was never a guy someone worried about toughness with. He's a big dude, 219 lbs. Nor is he the elite deceptive dangler and play maker which might tie Tyler Johnson and Nylander somewhat together. Also FTR, I like Nylander. I would have picked him personally. But I still think Virtanen is a great pick!

In most cases its components of all! And its up to coach / management / players to craft a team with match up advantages opponents cannot counter. Whatever those advantages are. There are big mobile defenders, Pronger and Chara come to mind, where skilled guys, even lightning fast ones, cannot seem to break into seams on. Then they get stuck on the boards, even pinned and ineffective.

BTW; Virtanen may not be the puck wizard Nylander is. Nor is Tarasenko. But Virtanen is a highly credible goal scorer with an elite shot. Also explosive speed. A facet rare in a big man. Its that component of speed and goal scoring in a big man that makes him a lot more like Taresenko than different. Don't be surprised if they come out similar?

Hockeys Future on Tarasenko prior to his draft; '' Tarasenko's strongest asset is his goal scoring ability with his quick hands and sudden release. His explosive acceleration allows him to create space." ''A fiery competitor, he plays with grit and tenacity. He is solidly built at 5'11 202 pounds.''

Hockey's Future on Virtanen; ''Key asset is his great acceleration and speed. Moves well laterally without gearing down." "Complete power forward. Shoots the puck hard. Strong along the boards.''

I'm not saying that the current Andrew Ladd isn't a horrible player, but with the 6th overall pick we could and should have done better. Ladd was always a disappointment and I hope we don't have to wait 7 years of NHL toiling and developing before Virtanen becomes a consistent scorer, because he won't last those years with the Canucks.

We'd be pretty lucky if Virtanen ended up a Tarasenko, the biggest difference there is that Tarasenko started playing hockey in the KHL with men when he was 15 or 16 years old, so has always been used to playing with men - hence his fast start in the NHL.

Virtanen may have been a younger kid at the draft, but he's still playing with kids in the WHL and will probably need a year or two in the AHL before he makes the big league, so I doubt he'll explode onto the scene the way Tarasenko did. No doubt we may end up with one of the league's best right wingers in Virtanen (I can honestly see him become a Perry/Nash-like player if we're very lucky, or someone like Ladd/Lucic if we're lucky or Kassian if we're unlucky) but the Canucks NEED a center instead.

If we had a choice between a future Corey Perry/Nash/Lucic or a future Filip Forsberg/Henrik Sedin/Nicklas Backstrom, I'd pick the latter every single time.

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Vey - Horvat - Jensen

...is a far more well-rounded prospect pool than this:

Virtanen - Horvat - Kassian

Shinkaruk - Vey - Jensen

[Tambellini's Wrist Shot]

I'm not saying that the current Andrew Ladd isn't a horrible player, but with the 6th overall pick we could and should have done better. Ladd was always a disappointment and I hope we don't have to wait 7 years of NHL toiling and developing before Virtanen becomes a consistent scorer, because he won't last those years with the Canucks.

We'd be pretty lucky if Virtanen ended up a Tarasenko, the biggest difference there is that Tarasenko started playing hockey in the KHL with men when he was 15 or 16 years old, so has always been used to playing with men - hence his fast start in the NHL.

Virtanen may have been a younger kid at the draft, but he's still playing with kids in the WHL and will probably need a year or two in the AHL before he makes the big league, so I doubt he'll explode onto the scene the way Tarasenko did. No doubt we may end up with one of the league's best right wingers in Virtanen (I can honestly see him become a Perry/Nash-like player if we're very lucky, or someone like Ladd/Lucic if we're lucky or Kassian if we're unlucky) but the Canucks NEED a center instead.

If we had a choice between a future Corey Perry/Nash/Lucic or a future Filip Forsberg/Henrik Sedin/Nicklas Backstrom, I'd pick the latter every single time.

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Vey - Horvat - Jensen

...is a far more well-rounded prospect pool than this:

Virtanen - Horvat - Kassian

Shinkaruk - Vey - Jensen

You're forgetting about these guys:

EDIT: oh and him

Edited November 8, 2014 by Tambellini's Wrist Shot

[HowYaDrouin]

I'm not saying that the current Andrew Ladd isn't a horrible player, but with the 6th overall pick we could and should have done better. Ladd was always a disappointment and I hope we don't have to wait 7 years of NHL toiling and developing before Virtanen becomes a consistent scorer, because he won't last those years with the Canucks.

We'd be pretty lucky if Virtanen ended up a Tarasenko, the biggest difference there is that Tarasenko started playing hockey in the KHL with men when he was 15 or 16 years old, so has always been used to playing with men - hence his fast start in the NHL.

Virtanen may have been a younger kid at the draft, but he's still playing with kids in the WHL and will probably need a year or two in the AHL before he makes the big league, so I doubt he'll explode onto the scene the way Tarasenko did. No doubt we may end up with one of the league's best right wingers in Virtanen (I can honestly see him become a Perry/Nash-like player if we're very lucky, or someone like Ladd/Lucic if we're lucky or Kassian if we're unlucky) but the Canucks NEED a center instead.

If we had a choice between a future Corey Perry/Nash/Lucic or a future Filip Forsberg/Henrik Sedin/Nicklas Backstrom, I'd pick the latter every single time.

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Vey - Horvat - Jensen

...is a far more well-rounded prospect pool than this:

Virtanen - Horvat - Kassian

Shinkaruk - Vey - Jensen

In all honesty, if given the choice between Corey Perry and Nicklas Backstrom you'd be hard pressed to find a single person on this board that would take the later.

Also, to quote your earlier post about how a team built of skill is a better team than a those built of grit. How many cups have LA and Boston won in the past 5 years? Those are hard physical teams that don't have any pure skill guys. Now how many cups have the Canucks, Caps and Edmonton won? There have been more cup wins by those two teams than series wins by EDM/VAN/WAS in the last 3. Come on DownUnda don't be so pompous to believe you're actually right about this.

[Pears]

I'm not saying that the current Andrew Ladd isn't a horrible player, but with the 6th overall pick we could and should have done better. Ladd was always a disappointment and I hope we don't have to wait 7 years of NHL toiling and developing before Virtanen becomes a consistent scorer, because he won't last those years with the Canucks.

We'd be pretty lucky if Virtanen ended up a Tarasenko, the biggest difference there is that Tarasenko started playing hockey in the KHL with men when he was 15 or 16 years old, so has always been used to playing with men - hence his fast start in the NHL.

Virtanen may have been a younger kid at the draft, but he's still playing with kids in the WHL and will probably need a year or two in the AHL before he makes the big league, so I doubt he'll explode onto the scene the way Tarasenko did. No doubt we may end up with one of the league's best right wingers in Virtanen (I can honestly see him become a Perry/Nash-like player if we're very lucky, or someone like Ladd/Lucic if we're lucky or Kassian if we're unlucky) but the Canucks NEED a center instead.

If we had a choice between a future Corey Perry/Nash/Lucic or a future Filip Forsberg/Henrik Sedin/Nicklas Backstrom, I'd pick the latter every single time.

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Vey - Horvat - Jensen

...is a far more well-rounded prospect pool than this:

Virtanen - Horvat - Kassian

Shinkaruk - Vey - Jensen

Backstrom's a great player with all due respect, but I take Perry 10 out of 10 times. You need that type of player that Perry is to win and we have a very similar one in Virtanen.

[messier's_elbow]

You're wasting your time with these guys. There's no point in talking sense to people who are hell bent on holding on to hope. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but neither will it make the situation any less pathetic.

We wasted the our highest draft pick since the Sedins, and understandably it's kind of hard to take that in.

Just like the Sedins were sisters. Kesler had no hands and was a 3rd or 4th liner. Hodgson was an injured bust. Ect. Saying Virtanen is a bust at this point of time is so asinine that It comes across as trolling.

[messier's_elbow]

Imagine Nylander deking through Virtanen's legs and scoring.

Big hitters don't win you cups, at the end of the day it's scoring that does it. Obviously you need to be a good mix of both, but like I've said I'd rather take a guy with raw offensive talent like Nylander and teach him a bit of defence (ie. the way the Sedins developed) than get a bigger guy like Virtanen and hope we can knock some pure offensive skill into him (ie. the struggle we're having with Kassian right now).

Just look at kids like Tarasenko and Johnson right now. No one thought they'd be "tough enough" to do well in the NHL, but their skill is embarassing teams right now. Tarasenko had a lot of doubters coming into the NHL and he's proving that skill trumps size.

Who doubted him? The only fear when he was drafted was that he had the russian factor.

[Brick Tamland]

Ladd was a 3rd and 4th liner on those stacked Cup winning teams, I hope Virtanen doesn't end up becoming a 3rd or 4th liner on a good team or a captain and first liner on a horrible team like Winnipeg.

I never said Virtanen was a bust, I'm just saying that we should have picked Nylander. No doubt Virtanen will become a good player in the league, but when you get a pick as high as the #6 you can't just pick a good player, you have to take the great ones.

You're annoying... go troll somewhere else. Were you cut from a team Virtanen destroyed you on because that is what it sounds like.

I have watched Jake play since 14. He may bust, but he has a toolbox full of tools that NHL scouts and GMs drool over.

He could literally be the next Eric Lindros but he could also be Brad Isbister. I think he will be Jake Virtanen and closer to Lindros. He can fight as well.

[DownUndaCanuck]

In all honesty, if given the choice between Corey Perry and Nicklas Backstrom you'd be hard pressed to find a single person on this board that would take the later.

Also, to quote your earlier post about how a team built of skill is a better team than a those built of grit. How many cups have LA and Boston won in the past 5 years? Those are hard physical teams that don't have any pure skill guys. Now how many cups have the Canucks, Caps and Edmonton won? There have been more cup wins by those two teams than series wins by EDM/VAN/WAS in the last 3. Come on DownUnda don't be so pompous to believe you're actually right about this.

The point I was making was that we don't need another first line winger, we need a first line center. Perry wouldn't be much good without Getzlaf and vice versa. We've got plenty of wingers to play on a future top line but as it stands right now, we don't have that center which is why I would take someone like Henrik Sedin or Backstrom.

It's a bit naive comparing Edmonton to Boston, don't think I'm that blind. The NHL isn't as black and white as what you make it out to seem, you don't just have a "tough" team or a "skilled" team so let me explain that a bit more for you.

In todays game, teams that are winning playoff rounds and Cups year in year out are the most BALANCED teams. Boston didn't win their cup in 2011 because they were the toughest team in the league, they won it because they had the perfect blend of skill, speed and toughness. Yes, they were tougher and stronger than the Canucks, but they would not have gotten to the Finals if they didn't have any offensive skill.

Just take a look at the lineups of the Bruins, Blackhawks and Kings of the last few seasons. They're not stacked with big, strong powerforwards (or they'd be far too one-dimensional to be successful). Instead, they have players who are very versatile and can play all sorts of different types of games, but most importantly each line and each pairing is the perfect mix of skill and size. Are you telling me players like Justin Williams, Voynov, Krejci and Patrick Kane are tough guys?

No, they're not. Then why do they have so much success and win Cups? Because they're on lines with stronger powerforwards who add a different element to their line. Williams is often with Brown, Krejci plays a lot with Lucic and Kane won a Cup with Bickell on his line.

The point I'm making here is that no successful team is one-dimensional and just has a bunch of "tough" guys, or even a bunch of "versatile" players. They HAVE to have a bit of pure offensive skill dabbled throughout their lineup or they'd be far too easy to defend. Right now, our prospect pool is very easy to defend. Virtanen is similar to Jensen who plays a similar game to Kassian and Horvat. We could have desperately used a guy like Nylander who would have brought that element of pure skill into our future top-6.

Drafting Nylander wouldn't have made our team "soft" at all, it would have added an extra element to our attack. The danger comes when you have too many soft, skilled guys on a team - THAT'S when you become the Oilers or Capitals. Having one or two pure offensive stars in the top-6 is the complete opposite. Yes, it's a fine line, but it's one that we're on the wrong side of at the moment.

[messier's_elbow]

I'm not saying that the current Andrew Ladd isn't a horrible player, but with the 6th overall pick we could and should have done better. Ladd was always a disappointment and I hope we don't have to wait 7 years of NHL toiling and developing before Virtanen becomes a consistent scorer, because he won't last those years with the Canucks.

We'd be pretty lucky if Virtanen ended up a Tarasenko, the biggest difference there is that Tarasenko started playing hockey in the KHL with men when he was 15 or 16 years old, so has always been used to playing with men - hence his fast start in the NHL.

Virtanen may have been a younger kid at the draft, but he's still playing with kids in the WHL and will probably need a year or two in the AHL before he makes the big league, so I doubt he'll explode onto the scene the way Tarasenko did. No doubt we may end up with one of the league's best right wingers in Virtanen (I can honestly see him become a Perry/Nash-like player if we're very lucky, or someone like Ladd/Lucic if we're lucky or Kassian if we're unlucky) but the Canucks NEED a center instead.

If we had a choice between a future Corey Perry/Nash/Lucic or a future Filip Forsberg/Henrik Sedin/Nicklas Backstrom, I'd pick the latter every single time.

Shinkaruk - Nylander - Kassian

Vey - Horvat - Jensen

...is a far more well-rounded prospect pool than this:

Virtanen - Horvat - Kassian

Shinkaruk - Vey - Jensen

Lol thats not true. Your the only one who believes that.

[messier's_elbow]

You're annoying... go troll somewhere else. Were you cut from a team Virtanen destroyed you on because that is what it sounds like.

I have watched Jake play since 14. He may bust, but he has a toolbox full of tools that NHL scouts and GMs drool over.

He could literally be the next Eric Lindros but he could also be Brad Isbister. I think he will be Jake Virtanen and closer to Lindros. He can fight as well.

GOOD GOD PLEASE NO