CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Goal yesterday was Vintage Virtanen, got the puck at the blue line went wide around the defender to the net and tucked it in far side. I don't think he could have made that look any easier to be honest. it;s on the Hitmen website. http://www.hitmenhockey.com/video/44462 Assists were nothing special, but they all count! When he scored it looked like he was gunna go by the Moose Jaw bench again like last year and exchange some healthy glove bumpings as he skated by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70seven Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 I know he's only 6'0" but man he's a big kid. He'll be doing some damage in the NHL with that combo of size, speed, strength, grit, and finish. He may not be an all star caliber player, but he'll certainly be a very valuable asset giving dmen gap control and containment fits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 I know he's only 6'0" but man he's a big kid. He'll be doing some damage in the NHL with that combo of size, speed, strength, grit, and finish. He may not be an all star caliber player, but he'll certainly be a very valuable asset giving dmen gap control and containment fits. Hockeydb isn't the best website to look for at stats, I looked on the WHL website and he's listed at 6'1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snizzle_ Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 (edited) Hockeydb isn't the best website to look for at stats, I looked on the WHL website and he's listed at 6'1. I wouldn't trust the WHL website either, they exaggerate just as much. The only real sites you can trust are third-party websites like at the Draft Combine or NHL.com From what I found, he was listed 6"0.75 and 208lbs at the Draft Combine (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=718423) Edited November 22, 2014 by junglesniper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 They're not a contending team so I doubt they would trade their young talent and picks (which CGY would want) for one year of Virtanen. I wouldn't want him to play on a subpar team anyways. Sorry Giants fans. Unless he makes the Canucks next year, he's back to junior, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Unless he makes the Canucks next year, he's back to junior, no? I meant to say one "full" year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Trade him now, and it's like 1 and 2/3 The Giants were/are reportedly on a three-year plan (this being year two) culminating in what they'd hoped would be the hosting of the 2016 Memorial Cup, with the expectation that they'd be in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Trade him now, and it's like 1 and 2/3 The Giants were/are reportedly on a three-year plan (this being year two) culminating in what they'd hoped would be the hosting of the 2016 Memorial Cup, with the expectation that they'd be in the mix. Year 2 is looking a lot like year 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaBamba Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) I want the Kelowna Rockets to make a deal for Virtanen. Edited November 23, 2014 by LaBamba 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canucks1219 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Red Deer beat Calgary 4-0. Virtanen had 4 PIMs in what looked to be a pretty chippy game. 3 - CAL J. Virtanen, 3:37 - Unsportsmanlike Cnd., 2 min 3 - CAL J. Virtanen, 10:28 - Unsportsmanlike Cnd., 2 min (PP) By the way, Virtanen now plays on the Hitmen's top line with Adam Tambellini and Kenton Helgeson. Tambellini (a Rangers prospect) is the younger brother of Jeff, and Helgeson (a Ducks prospect) is a former defenseman-turned-forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntrix Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Amazing that some people don't seem to understand that Virtanen is actually quite skilled. He's not just some goon that runs around trying to take peoples heads off. He's a terrific skater who players a powerforward game and owns a cannon for a shot. If there was a skill versus toughness scale, Virtanen would fall somewhere in the middle of Nylander and Ritchie. He's skilled but his skill isn't anything to write home about, Every player needs some skill to be taken in the first and second rounds, however that is not the aspect of his game that could be considered his 'strong' side. Cue a poster posting a highlight reel vid of flashes of skill. It's simply not his forte, especially at the position he was taken at... And that is not to say that he won't succeed. Like other posters said, he has size and a good shot but don't go propping up his skill when that's not where he excels at. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntrix Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) Jim And Trev sat down and drew up a Vancouver Canuck blueprint. Jake fits the blueprint, Nylander does not.A team needs an identity. The best examples of teams with identity are the Redwings, and Devils during their 2 decade playoff runs. There are players that are just Devils and Redwings. Those 2 teams have a long history of players that either leave their teams and suck someplace else, or suck someplace then thrive as Wings or Devils. Look into it it's mind blowing. The Kings and Bruins are also building identities. Sometimes you gotta just draw up a plan and go with it. Exactly. And this big, bad, tough identity wasn't the one that took us to the SCFs, gave us those presidents trophies, gave us that super long winning streak in the regular season I vaguely remember, and most importantly, gave us what probably was the best Canuck team in history. Moreover, this gritty identity you all want isn't a guarantee that we'll ever win a Stanley Cup. It's just another moving target you all want to chase. So stop talking about building an identity. It's hypocritical to say that. We already had one until you all decided to chase after another shiny objective. Linden went for the GM who valued big and tough teams. We'll see how this pans out but I thought that up until last year, we were doing just fine success-wise. And for the record, our 2011 team would have beaten this Kings team you all are so obsessed about in a 7 game series. Edited November 23, 2014 by guntrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) He's skilled but his skill isn't anything to write home about, Every player needs some skill to be taken in the first and second rounds, however that is not the aspect of his game that could be considered his 'strong' side. Cue a poster posting a highlight reel vid of flashes of skill. It's simply not his forte, especially at the position he was taken at... And that is not to say that he won't succeed. Like other posters said, he has size and a good shot but don't go propping up his skill when that's not where he excels at. Depends how you define skill. Some people seem to think that skill only entails dangling and flashy moves. Even though this type of skill is less likely to translate to the NHL. The skill that Virtanen brings is the ability to use speed to get to the net and into shooting positions, and using his strength to muscle his way past defenders. That's the type of skill that is more likely to have success at the NHL level. Edited November 23, 2014 by DeNiro 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Exactly. And this big, bad, tough identity wasn't the one that took us to the SCFs, gave us those presidents trophies, gave us that super long winning streak in the regular season I vaguely remember, and most importantly, gave us what probably was the best Canuck team in history. Moreover, this gritty identity you all want isn't a guarantee that we'll ever win a Stanley Cup. It's just another moving target you all want to chase. So stop talking about building an identity. It's hypocritical to say that. We already had one until you all decided to chase after another shiny objective. Linden went for the GM who valued big and tough teams. We'll see how this pans out but I thought that up until last year, we were doing just fine success-wise. And for the record, our 2011 team would have beaten this Kings team you all are so obsessed about in a 7 game series. Sure it didn't in 2011 but we aren't talking about a 2011 team when we're talking about Virtanen. Virtanen won't play with the Sedins, Burrows, Edler, Hamhuis type of players, he's going to play with players like Horvat, Shinkaruk, Jensen, McCann, Cassels, Kassian, Vey, Tanev. Every team has an identity, it looks like our identity once the Sedins, Bieksa, Burrows retire is a physical, fast team with skill. Benning drafted Virtanen and McCann with his 1st 2 picks as a Canucks' GM. That tells me he wants a fast team, a hard team to play against and a physical one with a good amount of skill. Something like the Boston Bruins he left IMO. It's clear where he wants to go with this team, we'll probably expect a type of player like that when he uses his 1st rounder in the 2015 NHL Draft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saucypass Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 How cool would it be to pick up Ryan Gropp in the 2015 draft and have two B.C. born powerforwards? Virtanen-_____ - Gropp I think it'd allow the Canucks to pickup a centre that's a little bit undersized but filled with skill and put him between the two of them. Would be even cooler if he was B.C. born as well, then we'd have a B.C. line One can dream 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutesi Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 He's skilled but his skill isn't anything to write home about, Every player needs some skill to be taken in the first and second rounds, however that is not the aspect of his game that could be considered his 'strong' side. Cue a poster posting a highlight reel vid of flashes of skill. It's simply not his forte, especially at the position he was taken at... And that is not to say that he won't succeed. Like other posters said, he has size and a good shot but don't go propping up his skill when that's not where he excels at. Skating is a skill and he's the best skater in his draft year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Linden went for the GM who valued big and tough teams. Then why did he trade for Linden Vey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Then why did he trade for Linden Vey? Because the Bruins do value skill as well. Just because their identity was built around guys like Chara and Lucic, doesn't mean they don't have smaller skilled guys in their lineup. See Griffith and Khokhlachev as their examples this season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Then why did he trade for Linden Vey? Size, skill and speed is deadly. Most top teams have all three aspects. Kings, Hawks, Bruins, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I know im going to get flamed for this. Especially by deniro. While I'm not panicking. And I won't go into a rant on who we should have picked because I'm not a professional, and iI flip flopped my favored pick numerous times. I will say that so far virtanens lack of production has been alarming. Many will come to virtanens aid with "he's learning both sides of the game" (which i dont buy into at all) and "hes coming off a major surgery (many players come off injury and production immediately, especially in junior where he should be dominating). He has 3 goals since coming back. 4 if you wish to include the super series. Out of those 4, I know 2 were gimmes (superseries and garbage triple deflection rebound goal). Does anyone else share this feeling right now? Can anyone provide me with more insight asto why his production is lacking (other than the excuses I mentioned above). Concern's are understandable. I've had that feeling a bit too, he's picking up more assists but his shooting ability hasn't been as prevalent as last year. I'm not too concerned right now myself, he definitely needs time to get up to speed with everyone else, missing the summer & missing training camp leaves you a step or two behind & that takes time. I think if he hasn't picked his game up a bit by Jan or Feb then there is reason for concern. Perks of being a high draft pick - there are always those picked after you that some of the team's fans wish they took instead. Bo at #9 and now Jake at #6. Shinkaruk and McCann get a free pass for dropping to #24. shink and mccann get a free pass for being our "extra" first round picks. so they become "steals" McCann has been very good so far after mono, & Shinkaruk has been very good in back to back pre-season's, both years he was pushing to make the team, I don't think they need a free pass. (Not saying Bo or Jake do either, they don't, but I'm just saying) Virtanen for Benson? I don't think that would be a good trade for Vancouver. I want the Kelowna Rockets to make a deal for Virtanen. Ya I was going to say, Kelowna is the team that should trade for Virtanen. Imagine him on LW with Chartier & Merkley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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