Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Rush17]

For those of you who are critical of Jake and his development.

 

If you were to switch Thatcher's draft position with that of Jake Virtanen.  At this stage of their careers are you happy with that draft?  

1st Round: Demko drafted 6 Overall.

2nd Round: Virtanen drafted 35 Overall.

-------------------------------------------------------

3rd Round: Tryamkin drafted 66 Overall.

 

Thoughts?

 

[DallasDrake]

2 minutes ago, Rush17 said:

For those of you who are critical of Jake and his development.

 

If you were to switch Thatcher's draft position with that of Jake Virtanen.  At this stage of their careers are you happy with that draft?  

1st Round: Demko drafted 6 Overall.

2nd Round: Virtanen drafted 35 Overall.

-------------------------------------------------------

3rd Round: Tryamkin drafted 66 Overall.

 

Thoughts?

 

Nice thinking  Im still happy with him at #6 that speed size and shot rarely come in same right handed package. He just takes longer to "get it" what is it to be pro. Just like Burr said.

[Silky mitts]

Lol still take nylander over jake any day.. you are completely out to lunch if you still take jake at this present day

[Camel Toe Drag]

5 minutes ago, Silky mitts said:

Lol still take nylander over jake any day.. you are completely out to lunch if you still take jake at this present day

Thanks for sharing. It's nice to get some fresh opini.... wait a second. 

[Boudrias]

Virtanen, like most Canuck prospects, will be in camp this fall and will get pre-season games. Whoever the coach is will take it from there. Canucks are way to small and that is a opportunity for Virtanen. Would love to see him nail down a 3rd line roll. If Green is the coach it would be the best scenario for Virtanen as they will know one another and continue the process developed in Utica. All this said I will not be overly upset if Jake goes back to Utica if needed.  

[stawns]

On 2017-04-14 at 10:49 AM, Silky mitts said:

Lol still take nylander over jake any day.. you are completely out to lunch if you still take jake at this present day

Who gives a $#!%?  The only people in that convo are sad sacks who have to run people down.  I don't care where he was picked or who was picked after him.  He's Canucks property and Thats what I care about.  Criers and whiners should go to hf boards and leave the rest of us to discuss Canucks prospects in the official Canucks discussion board

Edited April 15, 2017 by Templeton Peck
Please do not bypass the board censors

[DallasDrake]

9 minutes ago, Silky mitts said:

Lol still take nylander over jake any day.. you are completely out to lunch if you still take jake at this present day

Lol in re-draft Ehlers maybe but no way Nylander. He wouldnt helped us to get playoffs anyway these years and when we are competive Jake has honed his skills and plays in NHL powerforward game. And Nylander will still be perimeter player which he is. So at this point it doesnt even matter if he is in minors and Nylander is not.

[Silky mitts]

10 minutes ago, DallasDrake said:

Lol in re-draft Ehlers maybe but no way Nylander. He wouldnt helped us to get playoffs anyway these years and when we are competive Jake has honed his skills and plays in NHL powerforward game. And Nylander will still be perimeter player which he is. So at this point it doesnt even matter if he is in minors and Nylander is not.

Nylander hit 60 points in the nhl, jake can't even be a ppg player in the ahl and is on a bust trajectory and looks unlikely at this stage to be a nhl top 6 , or even a full time NHL'er. . But it is what it is, Virtanen is ours so hopefully he pans out and we'll leave it at that. But man the constant defending of a pick and putting other successful prospects down sure gets tiring to read.

[canucklehead44]

21 minutes ago, Silky mitts said:

Nylander hit 60 points in the nhl, jake can't even be a ppg player in the ahl and is on a bust trajectory and looks unlikely at this stage to be a nhl top 6 , or even a full time NHL'er. . But it is what it is, Virtanen is ours so hopefully he pans out and we'll leave it at that. But man the constant defending of a pick and putting other successful prospects down sure gets tiring to read.

Agreed. This is absolutely mental.

 

I am really pulling for Jake but YIKES, 19 points in 75 career AHL games is just not acceptable for a 6th overall pick. Especially when you consider 2/3 top scorers were in the ECHL last year, and Grenier who is again the leading scorer who got completely shunned out of ice time in the NHL playing just 19 games this year. 

 

Jake should be a lot better than these guys if he is going to be a top or even middle six NHL player. While I still think his speed, physicality, and skill set are good enough to at least carry on the fourth line I really hope he becomes at least a physical 15 for us like the role Torres played the year he was in Vancouver. 

Edited April 14, 2017 by canucklehead44

[J-Dizzle]

1 hour ago, Silky mitts said:

Nylander hit 60 points in the nhl, jake can't even be a ppg player in the ahl and is on a bust trajectory and looks unlikely at this stage to be a nhl top 6 , or even a full time NHL'er. . But it is what it is, Virtanen is ours so hopefully he pans out and we'll leave it at that. But man the constant defending of a pick and putting other successful prospects down sure gets tiring to read.

The way jake played in the NHL at the end of last year gave me quite a bit of hope. 

 

I very well could be wrong on this but I'm guessing he's being asked to work on some very specific aspects of his game while he's down there which could explain the - agreeably - concerning lack of production. 

[Alflives]

3 minutes ago, J-Dizzle said:

The way jake played in the NHL at the end of last year gave me quite a bit of hope. 

 

I very well could be wrong on this but I'm guessing he's being asked to work on some very specific aspects of his game while he's down there which could explain the - agreeably - concerning lack of production. 

The Canucks have coached the "playing" hockey out of Jake, and have him "thinking" too much.  That's not his game.  He needs to be left to just play, and he'll be fine.  

[R35Godz1lla]

45 minutes ago, J-Dizzle said:

The way jake played in the NHL at the end of last year gave me quite a bit of hope. 

 

I very well could be wrong on this but I'm guessing he's being asked to work on some very specific aspects of his game while he's down there which could explain the - agreeably - concerning lack of production. 

 

If I am remember correctly ( To lazy to look for it ) Green himself said they deconstructed his entire game so that they could build him back up using the natural tool-set he was gifted with at birth, size, speed and a shot that once he regains his timing is NHL level.

 

From what little I have wached of him this year and from what others have been saying, the compete level is there, he is forecheking well, creating turnovers all over the ice, playing a really good 200ft game, but that the points are just not coming.

 

I compare him to Horvat at the end of this season. Horvat was still playing the game the correct way, but the bounces where just not going his way, but earlier in the season he was a game changer doing those exact same things in the offensive zone.

 

41 minutes ago, Alflives said:

The Canucks have coached the "playing" hockey out of Jake, and have him "thinking" too much.  That's not his game.  He needs to be left to just play, and he'll be fine.  

Not at all true. If anything they are training him to not overthink. He is working on aspects of his game that going forward will become second nature allowing him to actually think the game properly when he get's a chance at grating a scoring chance.

 

They are turning him into a complete player on both sides of the puck.

[khay]

On 4/11/2017 at 0:55 AM, Butters Stoch said:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-going-dark-path-hapless-oilers/

 

SNET Hockey Central panel on Virtanen at 1:50... savage

Not a bad article considering that it's from Spector but there's one sentence that bothers me... He is flat out lying and doing nothing more than fool himself to soothe himself at night when he says:

 

Quote

So the setting was familiar, two front-office suits explaining how a “new direction” was needed, so they both decided it was best to fire the guy underneath them. The Oilers management did it, like, five times, and frankly nothing took until the suits were changed out in Edmonton.

 

Uhhhh... Let's be frank here. Nothing took place until lottery ball landed in favour of the Oilers. Then, the suits were changed. The talented managers and coaches only then wanted to come to Edmonton.

[Nave]

2 hours ago, Silky mitts said:

Nylander hit 60 points in the nhl, jake can't even be a ppg player in the ahl and is on a bust trajectory and looks unlikely at this stage to be a nhl top 6 , or even a full time NHL'er. . But it is what it is, Virtanen is ours so hopefully he pans out and we'll leave it at that. But man the constant defending of a pick and putting other successful prospects down sure gets tiring to read.

It might be unlikely that he's top six but saying he's unlikely to be an NHLer is jus not true.

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

think the organization should seriously consider switching him to the LW.  Seems so much more comfortable there and played their in junior.

[Alflives]

6 minutes ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

think the organization should seriously consider switching him to the LW.  Seems so much more comfortable there and played their in junior.

Absolutely!  The team is trying to shape Jake into something he's not, and it's really hurting his "natural" talents.  

[AK_19]

16 minutes ago, NaveJoseph said:

It might be unlikely that he's top six but saying he's unlikely to be an NHLer is jus not true.

Literally the only thing that makes him a likely NHLer is that he was a former top 10 pick. That's it, he's not even an average AHLer at this point and among the five worst picks thus far in his 1st round. IMO I can say he's played better Connor Bleackly and that's all. It is perfectly acceptable to say he is unlikely to be an AHLer.

Edited April 14, 2017 by AK_19

[WeneedLumme]

5 hours ago, Eastcoast meets Westcoast said:

Jake has had to face some adversity, over the long term it hopefully will make him a much better player. 

Let's hope so. It seems to have worked for Brock, who's faced a lot of adversity and now seems to be 20 years old going on 30.

[Ojibwa72]

4 hours ago, R35Godz1lla said:

Once it has been given a chance to show if it can return anything on the initial investment.

 

This was year one for Virt in the AHL and not even a full year at that. Nylander had parts of 2 years in the AHL before making the leafs near the end of last season ( I think it was near the end and not the start, might be wrong there ) .

 

Between Virtanens shoulder injury and the odd path his career has taken to this point you have to give him the entirety of next year to get back on track.If he can make it onto the Canucks roster by mid season, great. If he spends the entire year in the AHL, but has a stellar year stats wise, well fantastic, that should mean that he would be ready to join the Canucks for the 18-19 season and be able to finish forming a core of Bo, Boeser, OJ, this years top 5 pick, ect.

 

Demko is at least 1-2 years away, our D-men still need time to grow as do our forward prospects such as Gaudette/Lockwood ( Even Gaunce needs more time to grow offensively ) . There is zero need for Virtanen on the roster right now. If anything keeping prospects off the team next year gives us a better chance of a top 5 draft pick in a much deeper draft.

I do get this. you do have the same thought almost as I do. So on the flipside you are saying if he stumbles in the A again next year its time to cut ties. This is why he should have went to the A his first year and not been on the roster in my opinion. I think being with the big club a season has definitely stunted his growth.

[Gurn]

9 minutes ago, Ojibwa72 said:

I do get this. you do have the same thought almost as I do. So on the flipside you are saying if he stumbles in the A again next year its time to cut ties. This is why he should have went to the A his first year and not been on the roster in my opinion. I think being with the big club a season has definitely stunted his growth.

He could not go to the AHL last year, it was CHL or NHL.