OwnGoal Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I didn't see it posted: <- LINK Interesting Points from My Read: "I don't hold it against him" - Benning on Virtanens comments Benning heading home from Church, sees Virtanen is calling and thinks " I didn’t know whether I should take the call or not" After Virtanen's comments, Benning says to Jake "I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’" When Kuzma asked about trading Virtanen, Benning responds “Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning. The article then goes on to talk about Sven and his dealings with Burke while a Flame and how Green helped him focus in the AHL. There may be home for Jake yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ossi Vaananen Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 CDC is great at automatically embedding stuff. Just do it like this, link then quote the article, so it's not click bait. Article: http://vancouversun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-gm-jim-benning-on-jake-virtanens-hockey-news-comments-i-dont-hold-that-against-him Quote Jim Benning was heading home from church Sunday when Jake Virtanen called. “I didn’t know whether I should take the call or not,” the Vancouver Canucks general manager said Tuesday. Virtanen reached out in an attempt to clarify his Saturday comments to the Hockey News when asked about his reassignment to the Utica Comets and what the plan was for his return to the National Hockey League. Here’s what he said: “I was just doing what I was told. I wasn’t going to say much, but yeah, I didn’t play for a little bit there (Islanders, Rangers). Get sent down, play two games then back to Vancouver, didn’t play and then sent back. “It’s just a business and that’s how things are going to work. I don’t know exactly what it (the plan) is and they (Canucks) didn’t really communicate with me much.” That either sounds like a frustrated first-round pick, who believes he should be in The Show, or a 20-year-old who still has a long way to go to get his game and mind in order to be a consummate professional — no matter what level he’s playing at. Virtanen also held court in Vancouver a month ago and openly asked for more minutes because it was hard to prove his worth as a fourth-liner. Then came those Saturday quotes. “I don’t hold that against him,” said Benning. “Jake has a good heart, but he’s a young player and sometimes a little naive. I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’ “Every player’s path to the NHL is different. We want to do what’s best for Jake’s development because he’s an important guy for us. He understands that and I think we’re all on the same page. We’re going to be patient with him.” However, it still added fuel to the speculative fire that the Canucks may be getting tired of the act. They don’t want to give up on a player who has teased with size, skating and hitting, but when the Buffalo Sabres were spotted scouting a Comets game, it created a buzz. Are the Sabres still kicking the trade tires with the Canucks and is Virtanen — who has seven goals in 65 career NHL games — in play in a long-rumoured swap scenario for Evander Kane? “Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning. Sven Baertschi knows first hand how much first-round picks can struggle with having to temper their tongues and adapting their games. As the 13th overall pick in the 2011 draft, he had to deal with the disappointment of a yo-yo existence with the Calgary Flames before being dealt to the Canucks. He has played 124 games at the AHL level and 159 in the NHL and is better for everything he went through — both good and bad. “It was tough, but I learned a lot,” he said of his AHL experience. “There’s a lot more responsibility you have to take on down there — and you have to — and Jake is getting a lot of ice time and even power-play time. That’s big for him. That’s what is going to make you a better player. “He has to learn every single day and Travis (Green) is a great teacher and really helped me out a lot. He helped me clear my mind about being in Utica and not focusing on when I was going to get called up. Your head has to be with Utica at the time when you’re there. “There are so many distractions for players and Jake is a really popular guy in Vancouver. He just needs to take a breather and focus on getting better. He’s a unbelievable player and has so many tools, he just needs to regain his confidence and the ability to make plays. “There were times where I was playing in the AHL and didn’t know why, but you have to grind away.” Trust was a factor for Baertschi in Calgary and it didn’t help that Brian Burke’s first salvo after being named president of hockey operations in 2013 was aimed at the winger on the eve of the 2013-14 season. “I see this as a guy who’s focusing on one area (offence) and even then, sporadically,” said Burke. “So, I don’t know what we have.” What Baertschi had with the Flames was a disconnect. Whether not having the trust of management and being bypassed by other prospects, his days were numbered. He was dealt and his road to the NHL would only lengthen. “It took me three years but I was ready,” he stressed. “This feels unreal because I was more prepared for every scenario in the NHL.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumerman77 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 My biggest take away from this article is that Benning goes to church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 “I don’t hold that against him,” said Benning. “Jake has a good heart, but he’s a young player and sometimes a little naive. I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’ “Every player’s path to the NHL is different. We want to do what’s best for Jake’s development because he’s an important guy for us. He understands that and I think we’re all on the same page. We’re going to be patient with him.” “Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning. Good stuff GMJB. Great comments from Baertschi as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlinkas wrister Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 1 minute ago, baumerman77 said: My biggest take away from this article is that Benning goes to church. Mine is that Jake actually has Bennings cell phone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Gonna re-post some things regarding Virtanen that get lost in the fishbowl perspective in Vancouver. http://www.behindthenet.ca/nhl_statistics.php?f1=2015_s&f2=5v5&f5=VAN&f7=5-&c=0+1+3+5+4+6+7+8+13+14+29+30+32+33+34+45+46+63+67 A 19 yr old - with the best corsi on the team last year. In addition, his ozone starts are middling (with ozone finishes actually a touch higher than starts) - as well as middling quality of competition. Add to the context that he was playing on a depleted lineup with a whole bunch of other youth and tweeners stepping up - as a teenaged rookie pwf. That is anything but sheltered minutes for a teenager. Credit where credit is due. And as I've pointed out before, the young guy has 26 takeaways in 65 games (and a +11 turnover differential) playing 11 minutes a game. Not sure how many people realize what kind of numbers those actually are - particularly for a teenaged pwf. It's a small sample, but it puts him in a class with some very good veteran two way players / puck hounds. 135 hits aren't inconsequential either - and his ability to separate the puck from the opponent in those situations would be another interesting statistic that don't show up in his takeaways. He's big, he's fast enough to blow by NHL defensemen on the rush, he hits hard, and he's nowhere near as vacant or lacking hockey intelligence as a lot of prejudgemental would like to sell. Virtanen stumbled in 10 games early this year - he's having a setback (and not sure how healthy that shoulder is tbh) - but if any market can blow something like this way out of proportion, it's Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 & I thought Jimbo was a Pastafarian?.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofsurrey Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Virt has great speed, big body and a shot. Very responsibly defensively for the canucks but just could not figure the offensive part out this year. Probably knew he had to be stellar defensively sound if he had any chance to stay on the Nucks roster. The kid will be a player. Just on the immature side . Not a mature kid like Bo. Would like to see him coached more on interview skills..... Virt just needs to get a bit older / more mature. Shut the f up and just say he wants to play hard consistently. I am looking forward to seeing Virt have a long career on our club. Speed and size is a lethal combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 1 hour ago, baumerman77 said: My biggest take away from this article is that Benning goes to church. That's a sad admission on your part, as is your obsession with him. You should stick to the weak 'analytics' and stay out of his personal life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nux_win Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 5 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said: & I thought Jimbo was a Pastafarian?.. They didn't say which church he was coming from. GCG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuck Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 JB is a GM working in a market where both media and fans will jump on any comment or action and often automatically assume the worst - every step won't be perfect. Virt is a 20 year old kid used to being the big fish in a small pond but is now struggling to find his way in pro-hockey - every step won't be perfect. Both sides need to be given some latitude imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 25 minutes ago, oldnews said: “I don’t hold that against him,” said Benning. “Jake has a good heart, but he’s a young player and sometimes a little naive. I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’ “Every player’s path to the NHL is different. We want to do what’s best for Jake’s development because he’s an important guy for us. He understands that and I think we’re all on the same page. We’re going to be patient with him.” “Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning. Good stuff GMJB. Great comments from Baertschi as well. People here, on call in shows, have made a big deal out of absolutely nothing but a 20 year old being a 20 year old. Jake has a very bright future in Vancouver and there is zero reason to believe otherwise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 30 minutes ago, Ossi Vaananen said: CDC is great at automatically embedding stuff. Just do it like this, link then quote the article, so it's not click bait. Article: http://vancouversun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-gm-jim-benning-on-jake-virtanens-hockey-news-comments-i-dont-hold-that-against-him Thanks Ossi - I absolutely loathe going to the Province or Sun - where ever avoidable - always preferable to see the content posted here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekey Pete Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Nice to see a more calm perspective of the situation where the sky is not constantly falling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mll Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 47 minutes ago, OwnGoal said: I didn't see it posted: <- LINK Interesting Points from My Read: "I don't hold it against him" - Benning on Virtanens comments Benning heading home from Church, sees Virtanen is calling and thinks " I didn’t know whether I should take the call or not" After Virtanen's comments, Benning says to Jake "I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’" When Kuzma asked about trading Virtanen, Benning responds “Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning. The article then goes on to talk about Sven and his dealings with Burke while a Flame and how Green helped him focus in the AHL. There may be home for Jake yet. On point 2 about picking up the phone. Botchford in the Provies writes: He was joking, however, and laughed when he said it. It's misleading by Kuzma to not mention that Benning was joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockhart Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 So I wonder who is going to play with Horvat in the future, Boeser or Virtanen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I think we should put Virtanen in the Euro league mindset for the rest of the season. Whenever a Canucks prospect is playing Europe no one really cares that much, cause there's so little info put on them. Let's just forget about what's happening with him and let him play, and develop, and do all those nice things 20 year old pro hockey players do (Exercise, learn to cook, play video games, get some confidence, etc) No need to nit pick at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 6 minutes ago, Derp... said: I think we should put Virtanen in the Euro league mindset for the rest of the season. Whenever a Canucks prospect is playing Europe no one really cares that much, cause there's so little info put on them. Let's just forget about what's happening with him and let him play, and develop, and do all those nice things 20 year old pro hockey players do (Exercise, learn to cook, play video games, get some confidence, etc) No need to nit pick at the moment. Agree, look forward to next season when Virtanen, Boeser and Juolevi make the team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stelar Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 35 minutes ago, mll said: On point 2 about picking up the phone. Botchford in the Provies writes: He was joking, however, and laughed when he said it. It's misleading by Kuzma to not mention that Benning was joking. I think we can deduce that from his comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 1 hour ago, Nuxfanabroad said: & I thought Jimbo was a Pastafarian?.. Pretty sure I've seen him with a colander on his head. In pasta we trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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