Remember: Jake is still very young

[alfstonker]

I thought Jake played pretty well last night.

I also think Jared has benefitted from playing with two 4th line wingers who have constantly shown they are a lot more than sluggers. I never underestimated Dorsett because I watched many of his games with NYR but I hold my hand up on Prust who while realising he was solid never realised he was such a smart hockey player. I hope his injury is not serious.

Jake for me needs to relax a bit more and just play his normal game. It is coming and I now think he might stick, providing he keeps playing with vets. 

[alfstonker]

For his own benefit and the future of the Canucks I hope they decide to send him back to juniors. He has been playing well but he looked a little lost at points. It's noticable that he is the least ready for the NHL out of Baertschi and McCann, it could be an age thing, I don't know.

Virtanen is Vancouvers most important prospect moving forward and that requires extra care. I think he would really benefit from some time in the AHL as well to develop his offensive game further. If I am not mistaken he would be eligible to play for Utica next season. Send him back to Calgary this year and let him develop slowly to make sure he becomes the player he has the potential to be and not just another physical player.

These were my thoughts until last night but last night I saw a big improvement. I think he is beginning to settle down and play his own game now.

However I will not be moaning at whatever decision coaches and management make for him (or the others) This is a long game we are playing and it is important not to put ourselves or the rookies under unfair pressure.

[Me_]

Frankly, if hitting is all he's really supplying I'd rather see him sent back to junior. Save the year of his elc and let him play top six to work on his offensive. Next year he can move freely between Vancouver and Utica according to his play. Shinkaruk, Grenier, and Gaunce have all paid their dues on the farm and been playing well.

Yeah because so many other Canucks are hitting...

If the kid is defensively sheltered by Sutter and Burrows like yesterday, the results are astonishing.

As far as his defensive game, no better place to learn than with playing with Sutter and Burrows; two of the top defensive players in the league.

Virtanen helped set the tone against the current top NHL team.

I call for assessments by 10 game increments.

 

[Me_]

I don't think that anything that you say is debatable, the problem is do you want to pidgeonhole Jake into this sort of player or do you let him explore his full potential and allow him to become the offensive player that he can become? Sending a player back to junior has NEVER hurt a single player ever, in fact it's helped more players achieve their potential that it should be a no brainer for us to send players back. Unfortunately people in Canucksland seem to want instant gratification even at the expense of our best prospects.

With the support of Sutter and Burrows, Virtanen's offensive game will come.

Virtanen could easily have had two last night. He's getting chances. So was Vrbata until he started clicking.

I think something truly special is happening for the Canucks.

Yesterday each rookie was insulated by veteran presence. It was evident to me that the vets are motivated by the rookies and the rookies are allowed to get creative due to vet presence and a safe working environment.

And Hutton is just in a league of his own.

[MJDDawg]

But...but...we could have had Ehlers!!!   

 

[Canuck_Fan_52]

Good points here. Always think long term.  It took about 5 seasons for the Sedins to blossom as superstars.  There was much hype in Vancouver when we drafted them but we waited for them to develop as they were still learning under mentors such as Naslund Bertuzzi and Morrison as well as Klatt. 

We lost patience with Neely and gave up on him  at the age of 21.  There was much hype with him due to his performance with the Portland Winterhawks and rushed him into the NHL at 18.  When we traded him to Boston, he had 3 50 plus goal scoring seasons.  Not to mention the Bruins also got Wesley who would later be traded for Sergei Samsonov (Calder trophy winner).  Could we have won the cup in 1994 with Neely and Wesley in our lineup? 

[luckylager]

the guy needs hockey iq! Button was 100 percent right with his assesment, he makes poor passes sometimes and is not showing off his LETHAL shot that made him such a high draft pick to begin with! Time to send him back to junior and call up Gaunce or Griener, Jake's not ready he needs to go back to juniors and dominate the Juniors, like max domi did.

I don't really see how sending him back to junior will help him. He's physically ready for the NHL, needs a lot of grooming from pro's on how to play the pro game, but whether or not he can fully dominate offensively in the WHL doesn't really matter, he'll develop better in Vancouver. Domi needed to get stronger, Jake doesn't, he's proven that. His O game will come...hopefully sooner than later.

But hey, if they send him back, they send him back. There's gonna be a lot of sore boys in the dub, JV is a freight train.

[Jack Fig]

If the Canucks were a contender, then having Jake here might not be a great idea. But since they're not, he's a good fit right here and now. All he needs is his 10-12 minutes per game to get out there and learn. No pressure, no need to score...just play and figure things out. 10-12 minutes per game is not 'rushing' a young player at all if he can handle it. Like Bo from last year, the offensive part of his game will come when he gets more confidence on the ice. It's a good situation.

[mediahack]

1)      Jake will never be a play-maker. Ever. That doesn’t mean he’s a bust or a bad player. Micro analysis of everything in hockey has created this Utopian vision of the perfect hockey player in people's heads. That's more fantasy that reality, everyone has flaws. That’s why you play hockey as a team. You mix different skill sets together to create a collection of players that produces above the sum of their parts. Remember Gilly drafted based on “hockey IQ” and other media friendly, academic-based parameters and it led to worst stretch of drafting in Canucks history.

      2) Everything he needs to work on can only be done in the pro game. Sending him back to junior will only reinforce bad habits. Once he gets comfortable positioning wise, and can play loose, he will be a force. You will lose an entire year of development sending him back to junior and since the AHL isn't an option he has to stay.

      3)      Not once this season have I thought to myself, “Wow, he looks out of place better send him back”. Yes, he makes mistakes, but he’s a rookie. They all make mistakes.

[elvis15]

Virtanen is not guaranteed to be anything at this point. Any sane person agrees it's far to early to judge him, but Benning will still have to do that and make a decision on if he sticks or not.

The same goes for any player, and the chicken littles and uber-homers will never be convinced of a more moderate view by any number of new threads. The 518 pages of Jake Virtanen Talk should be reminder enough of that.

[Angry Goose]

Jake is awesome.  His forecheck turns pucks over and with guys like Sutter and Burrows it will only be a matter of time they start producing.  I really like the look of that line.  Gotta tip the hat to WD for the solid line combos

[saucypass]

Thank you for writing this post. I'm not going to lie, I'm definitely a doubter but I felt that you made some really good points and I'm excited to see him progress. I hope Jake becomes a perennial 30 goal scorer in this league someday as a power forward. 

[AlphaHoneyBadger]

He plays a game that can make him successful even when he isnt scoring. Jared needs to score. Jake can crush guys, which leads to turnovers and penalties. They both bring different aspects and its beautiful. Bi is in the middle of these two. Keep them both, neither are liabilities. 

[NazzyHankBo]

Just wanted to say, for any of those who felt disappointed the kid hasn't had a goal yet... or who feel his progress isn't as fast as McCann...

Jake Virtanen's birthday is August 17... only one month before the September 15th deadline for 18 year old qualifying for the draft.  That is about as young as you can take a draft.

The kid is still very wet behind the ears.

Yet we are seeing him already as a real physical force... and you can't teach his instincts to play that way... Kassian never showed this kind of hitting ability, very few players have the knack, the timing, and the speed to be right on top of the opposing defensemen the way Jake has been.

And his hits are HEAVY... he has the instinct to plant his legs, and direct his energy just perfectly.

He just PUNISHED the opposing defense all tonight... And I love his meanness...  Eller took a run at him, and he came right back and NAILED him. 

I think the words gonna get around the league fast... Don't mess with big Jake.

I think McCann is great, and I don't want to take anything away from him, but Virtanen is going to be a freakin' MONSTER.

You look at his size right now, at just barely 19, and you gotta think he is going to be at 215 for playing weight in a couple years.  I think he has a lot of room to develop his upper body strength.  And when he does that, he will be real chore for opposing defensemen to handle.

I am so happy Vancouver has a player of this kind of dimension... he brings something to the table in the way of skill and physical presence which the Canucks have lacked for a long time.

I'm not sure who's upset with Jake's play. I am actually quite pleasantly surprised. I never expected him to light it up offensively this year. His offensive game will take time, and more importantly chemistry with a good set up man. Jake is a finisher, he's not a playmaker. When he finds the right chemistry and more importantly his offensive confidence he will start scoring in bushelfuls - why? Well because

As you said, he hits like a freight train. I agree on your commentary here in regards to that ability. I have never in 30 years of watching NHL hockey seen someone with his size and ability to time other than maybe Cam Neely, and he's faster than Neely ever was. I played both competitive hockey and football and I have always said, hockey players need to learn how to hit from football players, get low and drive through a player...which he does. He is sending a real message to the league about how hard he hits and that will create room for him to have more time offensively (in time). What I also like about his hits are they are all squeeky clean. Have you noticed no one goes after him after he hammers people? And he's a rookie so you'd expect someone to take him to task on them, but its because he knows how to hit clean and is doing so and clearly the opponents see it and respect it....this is great!

Also, what I have been very impressed with is his defensive awareness. Many said he didn't have a high hockey IQ but I watch him closely in his defensive end. He knows where to be, when to support down low, when to stay high, when to exit the zone, when to chip the puck out vs carry it etc. As you said, he has everything we wanted from Kassian already, now he just needs to realize he belongs here and get that chip from the World Juniors back on his shoulder and some goals will come.

I mentioned this on another thread, but I think if he sticks for the season, we will see a jump in his offensive play much as we did with Bo. I think right now he's so focused on sticking that he is playing a very very safe defensive game and doing exactly what the coaches want. Once he knows he can't go anywhere other than the press box, I suspect he'll feel he belongs and a bit of the confidence will re-emerge as will some of his scoring talent!

What's not to love about this future group?

Shinkaruk McCann Virtanen

Baerschi Horvat Boeser

Guance Cassels Grenier

That's a very deep group and all legitimate players to make the NHL in that capacity (as most have shown they can already)

[4thLineGrinder]

he is wrecking people and still has his babyface going

 

just wait till he gets even stronger and starts playing his game in a man body

[austy]

I like how he hits but last night he eased up on getting to the puck first in the I zone so he could instead lay a hit, I'd rather see him win the puck. And on the Dorsett goal I noticed he stopped after the goal line insert of in front of the net. Just little things That I think coaching will help him get to the next level. I'm not sure where the best place is to learn that though. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Positive Canuck]

both kids should stay

 

especially Bam Bam Murder.

[DeNiro]

I love his physical game, but I want him to become more than just a Cal Clutterbuck.

It would be nice to see him drive the offense a bit more and use his speed to power to the net.

That being said, that play where he knocked down the puck and got a breakaway showed how skilled he is. Just need to find some finish.

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

Assuming that the lines we had yesterday stays put, there is no way in hell I'd send him back to junior. As long as he plays with Burrows and Sutter, his defensive game willl improve. I'm not too worried about his offense yet, once he settles in, he'll take more chances and we will see the result.

[Darius]

My only concern is that Jake goes for a long stretch without scoring consistently and he starts to lose confidence.

Columbus destroyed Brule and Klesla by playing them too much and too soon.  Its too bad he cant be sent to the AHL where they can play his wheels off and he can take on a more prominent role.