Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[J-Dizzle]

8 minutes ago, Spitfire_Spiky said:

I have to agree his rookie season was not bad at all considering the circumstances the team was in at the time and he proved he belonged in the NHL.

 

It was when he showed up to camp last season out of shape where I think it went downhill for him. It led to a mediocre camp followed by a weak start to the season and ultimately his demotion to the Comets. That obviously hurt his confidence and made him look at the way he approached the game and how he needs to play to be successful. While he didn't put up great numbers he came a long way last year and was one of the most exciting comets on the ice most nights.

 

Now if Jake can have a good off season and come in ready to play/perform like he did in his rookie season and combine that with the experience he got last year he will prove he can play at the NHL level. Whether or not he can earn a roster spot out of camp will depend on how he performs compared to our other RW propects like Boeser and Goldobin.

After his showing at the end of the year I'm assuming Brock is going to make the team next year.... I'd like to see him and Virt on the two power play units set up to shoot in the slot.  Let Virtanen work his way in slowly but give him the opportunity to shoot the puck taking passes from the Sedins or Bo and Baertschi.  

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

 

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

[thrago]

4 hours ago, Spitfire_Spiky said:

I have to agree his rookie season was not bad at all considering the circumstances the team was in at the time and he proved he belonged in the NHL.

 

It was when he showed up to camp last season out of shape where I think it went downhill for him. It led to a mediocre camp followed by a weak start to the season and ultimately his demotion to the Comets. That obviously hurt his confidence and made him look at the way he approached the game and how he needs to play to be successful. While he didn't put up great numbers he came a long way last year and was one of the most exciting comets on the ice most nights.

 

Now if Jake can have a good off season and come in ready to play/perform like he did in his rookie season and combine that with the experience he got last year he will prove he can play at the NHL level. Whether or not he can earn a roster spot out of camp will depend on how he performs compared to our other RW propects like Boeser and Goldobin.

I'm going to play devils advocate here a little bit.  First I going to say Jake could and hopefully will have a great career ahead of him,  but 2 things stick to my mind 1 him losing 20 Lbs during a season is really no accomplishment at all that's about the equivalent of skipping 2 donuts a week hardly a feet of pure willpower especially at 20 years old.  The second was Coach Green saying even 10 goal scorers can make an impact in the game.  That to me is like bringing your new girlfriend hope and asking your Mom what she thought of her.  As she looks around desperately she says while she's got nice eye's. 

 

Like I said Jakes career has barely started and by no means is it set in stone but you really have to put quite the spin his last season to say it was a successful campaign.  Hopefully he learnt his lesson and now knows a career in the NHL is 90% about hard work and if he does and there are signs that he might he should, be successful as he does seem to have all the required talent or the other 10%.

 

If he had Burrows drive he would be one of the top players in the league, I have no doubt.  I really hope puts it all together as he seems like a good kid that just messed up and didn't have the time to catch back up to his peers.

Edited May 18, 2017 by thrago

[dpn1]

19 hours ago, 10pavelbure96 said:

So by that logic does that mean shinkaruk >> Virtanen??

 

Development at the AHL level is so much more than points

I am not saying that the points are the main issue. I'm just saying that at 18 years old it's tough to predict what a players is upper-level will be. In five years it would be interesting to take the draft order they were in and arrange it to show who the best choices were.

Edited May 18, 2017 by dpn1

[Camel Toe Drag]

21 minutes ago, dpn1 said:

I am not saying that the points are the main issue. I'm just saying that at 18 years old it's tough to predict what a players is upper-level will be. In five years it would be interesting to take the draft order they were in and arrange it to show who the best choices were.

You must be new here. Everybody already does that. In five years it will be interesting to take the draft order and stop f#%$ ing talking about it 

[guntrix]

12 hours ago, J.R. said:

13 points as a rookie in 55 games on a mess of a team with largely good underlying stats. And while he clearly had work to do (and IMO could have been handled better) showed he could play at this level (especially after the WJC).

That hardly proves he "can play at the NHL level already," as you stated, especially if you want him to be anything more than an NHL tweener. 

 

Not putting him down, just saying that he still has it all to prove.

[Alflives]

Just now, guntrix said:

That hardly proves he "can play at the NHL level already," as you stated, especially if you want him to be anything more than an NHL tweener. 

 

Not putting him down, just saying that he still has it all to prove.

When Jake is in top shape he is an effective NHL player; we all witnessed that from him after the 2015/16 WJC.  Alf states now Jake will be a force next season, and pot 20+ goals.  Go Jake Go!!!

[canucklehead44]

Jake's rookie year was unspectacular but it was certainly something to build off of, especially his play after the WJC. 

I expected him to go to the AHL and score around 25 goals, 20 assists, similar numbers to Darren Archibald. Not exactly light the world on fire but show the offensive potential of a 6th overall pick. 

 

I still think he will be an NHL player, but likely in the bottom six. I'd be happy if he turned into a "Physical 15" 3rd liner, similar to guys like Torres, Cooke, were for us. Even at the draft, I saw Virtanen becoming a Cal Clutterbuck type player. I expected him to bust as a top six scorer, but more than make up for it with his speed and hitting. Maybe not a great pick at 6th but a valuable nhl player nonetheless. 

[Master 112]

This kid's a Canuck.

 

He'll be fine.

[aGENT]

8 hours ago, guntrix said:

That hardly proves he "can play at the NHL level already," as you stated, especially if you want him to be anything more than an NHL tweener. 

 

Not putting him down, just saying that he still has it all to prove.

A hell of a lot more than Shinkaruk has done, which was the discussion. 

 

No kidding! Jake still has things to prove?! What would we do without you Gun?!

 

 

[Down by the River]

18 hours ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

 

JV needs to get out of the Lower Mainland for his offseason training. 

[GoBoGo53]

9 hours ago, canucklehead44 said:

Jake's rookie year was unspectacular but it was certainly something to build off of, especially his play after the WJC. 

I expected him to go to the AHL and score around 25 goals, 20 assists, similar numbers to Darren Archibald. Not exactly light the world on fire but show the offensive potential of a 6th overall pick. 

 

I still think he will be an NHL player, but likely in the bottom six. I'd be happy if he turned into a "Physical 15" 3rd liner, similar to guys like Torres, Cooke, were for us. Even at the draft, I saw Virtanen becoming a Cal Clutterbuck type player. I expected him to bust as a top six scorer, but more than make up for it with his speed and hitting. Maybe not a great pick at 6th but a valuable nhl player nonetheless. 

The big red flag in your post is you saw Cal Clutterbuck in Virtanen at the draft. I have no idea why anyone would ever draft a player like that at 6, especially when guys with huge ceilings like Ehlers and Nylander are available, both look like superstars.

[Spitfire_Spiky]

9 hours ago, canucklehead44 said:

Jake's rookie year was unspectacular but it was certainly something to build off of, especially his play after the WJC. 

I expected him to go to the AHL and score around 25 goals, 20 assists, similar numbers to Darren Archibald. Not exactly light the world on fire but show the offensive potential of a 6th overall pick. 

 

I still think he will be an NHL player, but likely in the bottom six. I'd be happy if he turned into a "Physical 15" 3rd liner, similar to guys like Torres, Cooke, were for us. Even at the draft, I saw Virtanen becoming a Cal Clutterbuck type player. I expected him to bust as a top six scorer, but more than make up for it with his speed and hitting. Maybe not a great pick at 6th but a valuable nhl player nonetheless. 

A lot of people are point out that Jake needs to be physical to make it in the NHL and sadly thats not something we've seen from him since his shoulder injury. Whether its not healed properly or he is just hesitant with it, Jake is not the same physical presence he was before the injury. I think another part of that is that in junior he was a big guy compared to most players he played against and was able to use his physicality to knock players off the puck. That is how he played when he first showed up with the Canucks and at the young stars tournament he was a wrecking ball and everyone on CDC was raving about him after he smoked McDavid. The only knock was he would put himself out of position to make those hits but they were effective, but again that was against smaller players. In the Pros he has the size to compete but he is not that big and has shied  away from the physical side of his game, relying more on his speed then anything else. Whether its due to sheltering his injury or because his coaches have talked to him about being out of position on hits his game has changed a lot since he was drafted and he will need to find that physicality again if he is going to be that 3rd line Cooke/Torres type player that lots of people see him becoming.

 

With that being said I'm still pulling for him to be a top 6 winger, he has the speed to push defenders back and the shot to be effective off the rush. With the right linemates he could be an effective 2nd line winger and if/when he gets his physical side of his game going he could push for a top line spot. By no means is this going to happen overnight and he could need another year with the comets but he has the skill set to be an effective NHL player. We just need to be patient until he puts it all together.

[Butters Stoch]

52 minutes ago, GoBoGo53 said:

The big red flag in your post is you saw Cal Clutterbuck in Virtanen at the draft. I have no idea why anyone would ever draft a player like that at 6, especially when guys with huge ceilings like Ehlers and Nylander are available, both look like superstars.

"Ehlers and Nylander? Doubt they can throw their weight around in the AHL and show some North American heart like my boy Jake"

-Jim Benning probably

[Toews]

29 minutes ago, Butters Stoch said:

"Ehlers and Nylander? Doubt they can throw their weight around in the AHL and show some North American heart like my boy Jake"

-Jim Benning probably

"European softies"

 

If you go through this thread you will see the Sedins cited as reasons why we need to switch to drafting more Canadians boys. This is how most of those posts went, "I love the Sedins, but I am glad JB is building this team around big, tough Canadian talent". At least the one positive that has come out of this is that no one seems to be advocating that the Canucks should be focusing on BC born players at the draft.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Toews

[aGENT]

22 minutes ago, Toews said:

"European softies"

 

If you go through this thread you will see the Sedins cited as reasons why we need to switch to drafting more Canadians boys. This is how most of those posts went, "I love the Sedins, but I am glad JB is building this team around big, tough Canadian talent". At least the one positive that has come out of this is that no one seems to be advocating that the Canucks should be focusing on BC born players at the draft.

I thought you were above black and white extremes? 

[Toews]

5 minutes ago, J.R. said:

I thought you were above black and white extremes? 

I never said it was everyone doing it. I am just saying there were quite a few posters with the whole "I love the Sedins" but on the the next line, "I want Canadian heart". It was silly then and it is silly now, the Sedins dedicated themselves to this franchise and did everything they could to try and bring a Cup to this city. The last thing that should be questioned is the Sedins' passion for the game, they show it through their work ethic, their dedication. I find it sad that there are some in this city that celebrate lunch-pail type players while dumping on two of the greatest superstars this franchise will ever see.

[aGENT]

Just now, Toews said:

I never said it was everyone doing it. I am just saying there were quite a few posters with the whole "I love the Sedins" but on the the next line, "I want Canadian heart". It was silly then and it is silly now, the Sedins dedicated themselves to this franchise and did everything they could to try and bring a Cup to this city. The last thing that should be questioned is the Sedins' passion for the game, they show it through their work ethic, their dedication. I find it sad that there are some in this city that celebrate lunch-pail type players while dumping on two of the greatest superstars this franchise will ever see.

Agreed. Probably lead paint on their childhood toys.

 

 

 

 

[Mr.53]

I can't wait until Jake comes and surprises next season. I can't wait to go back and look at all the he's a bust posts... It's going to be fun.