I dont think Virtanen has the IQ to become a top 6 forward.

[apollo18]

ok so i have always been a virtanen supporter and ive watched his junior highlights and videos of him and ive also watched him closely especially during these playoffs.

all i saw during these playoffs from him was a player who literally has a ahl quality hockey iq. sure he might have speed and a build but when i watched him he never really used the speed. someone who always used there speed was someone like tuch. i was always waiting for the time for virtanen to get his legs moving but he never really had that. idrk whats wrong with him

some poeple say confidence or that he doesnt care about hockey that much but he jsut seems like a stupid hockey player. 

 

for example: most of the time i would see him on rushes he would use his speed or cut wide to get past the defender and then shoot a weak shot at a very bad angle

secondly whenever there was a cycle or picking up a dead puck along the boards he would never do proper hockey play. it seems he would just pass or try to dump the puck in more in sake of just getting rid of it rather then making a play.

 

the playoffs have been done for a while so i cant remember specific details but all i remember is that whenever i saw him i was let down, alot of times i would see a "dumb" play and virtanen would be involved. i remember on the pp he should have mad the pass to the point it was obvious and empty and he just dumped it deep down weakly lost the puck and the puck was cleared. in game 5 against stl was probably his best game but in all honestly it was pretty lucky. the first goal he had the puck and got pressured and literally passed the puck like a grenade. secondly the goal that he scored i honestly dont think he thought on that play. he picked up the puck and just shot it at allen and hoped it would go in but that was just luck. honeslty watch the game 5 stl highlights and i hope you guys see what i mean.

 

i honestly think being a top 6 forward is over for him, he just cannot compete along with other top 6 forwards, idk if its a confidence issue or what. 

the only chance i think that he will have being a staple is if hes next to petey on 1st line. if hes on second line hes just gonna bring down the whole line

 

 

discuss

[Aladeen]

Could this not have gone into one of the other Virt bashing threads?

[YEGCanuck]

Unfortunately I think you may be right. Jake just doesn't seem to have what it takes to play at an elite level. He can be useful to the team, the question is, in a limited role or in a trade.

[Whorvat]

I like the other apollo a lot more

[apollo18]

its not a bash, i just felt like his hockey iq had to be spoken about,. everyone raves about his speed and body and he rarely uses it

 

also everyone thinks hes magically going to get 25 goals top 6 but tbh i think last season was a "fluke" unless he starts shooting on the pp1 or something i dont see it happening again. he brings top 6 linemates down

[Pears]

1 minute ago, apollo18 said:

its not a bash, i just felt like his hockey iq had to be spoken about,. everyone raves about his speed and body and he rarely uses it

 

also everyone thinks hes magically going to get 25 goals top 6 but tbh i think last season was a "fluke" unless he starts shooting on the pp1 or something i dont see it happening again. he brings top 6 linemates down

Couple of things regarding this post

 

1) It was looking like we were going to lose Game 5 against St. Louis, then Green put Virtanen with Pettersson and Miller and we proceeded to take over and win that game and eventually the series, so you can’t say for sure he brings top 6 linemates down

 

2) The last two seasons Virtanen was on pace for over 20 goals each year and likely would have gotten there if he wasn’t hurt in 2018-19 and this last season wasn’t cut short. 

 

I really don’t know why people don’t realize power forwards, especially Jake’s kind, take longer than other players to reach their potential. 

[bree2]

8 minutes ago, Pears said:

Couple of things regarding this post

 

1) It was looking like we were going to lose Game 5 against St. Louis, then Green put Virtanen with Pettersson and Miller and we proceeded to take over and win that game and eventually the series, so you can’t say for sure he brings top 6 linemates down

 

2) The last two seasons Virtanen was on pace for over 20 goals each year and likely would have gotten there if he wasn’t hurt in 2018-19 and this last season wasn’t cut short. 

 

I really don’t know why people don’t realize power forwards, especially Jake’s kind, take longer than other players to reach their potential. 

sure you can put Jake in the top 6 , but he doesn't seem  to stick there and not because of Green, Green has given Jake every opportunity. but he can't sustain it, imo and i am not bashing Jake, he is better off on the third line. going into his 6th year , should we wait 10 years?

[oldnews]

[Down by the River]

37 minutes ago, Aladeen said:

Could this not have gone into one of the other Virt bashing threads?

That would require the IQ of a top 6 poster. 

[Ace The Creator]

Just now, Down by the River said:

That would require the IQ of a top 6 poster. 

[Down by the River]

24 minutes ago, Pears said:

Couple of things regarding this post

 

1) It was looking like we were going to lose Game 5 against St. Louis, then Green put Virtanen with Pettersson and Miller and we proceeded to take over and win that game and eventually the series, so you can’t say for sure he brings top 6 linemates down

 

2) The last two seasons Virtanen was on pace for over 20 goals each year and likely would have gotten there if he wasn’t hurt in 2018-19 and this last season wasn’t cut short. 

 

I really don’t know why people don’t realize power forwards, especially Jake’s kind, take longer than other players to reach their potential. 

Take them for what they are worth, but analytics (see Harman Dayal's work) indicate that JV does bring down his linemates. 

[apollo18]

30 minutes ago, Pears said:

Couple of things regarding this post

 

1) It was looking like we were going to lose Game 5 against St. Louis, then Green put Virtanen with Pettersson and Miller and we proceeded to take over and win that game and eventually the series, so you can’t say for sure he brings top 6 linemates down

 

2) The last two seasons Virtanen was on pace for over 20 goals each year and likely would have gotten there if he wasn’t hurt in 2018-19 and this last season wasn’t cut short. 

 

I really don’t know why people don’t realize power forwards, especially Jake’s kind, take longer than other players to reach their potential. 

 

 

its not about pwf or not, its about iq

its just that he does dumb things and makes dumb hockey players. it has noyihng to do about being a pwf

[stawns]

[DrJockitch]

Just so many parallels with Kassian, I hope the reasons aren't the same.

 

[Ferlands_Head]

I think Jake can be a great hockey player when he feels like it. 

 

He's improved every year and gotten more consistent. Here's hoping he continues that trend. 

 

In terms of being a PWF i'm not seeing it. He lacks that nastiness, a willingness to drive the net and hits about as often as Kris Letang. 

[spook007]

Another JV bashing thread.... 

 

Bring back the real Apollo...

Edited October 15, 2020 by spook007

[Patrick Kane]

@apollo

[Patel Bure]

2 hours ago, apollo18 said:

ok so i have always been a virtanen supporter and ive watched his junior highlights and videos of him and ive also watched him closely especially during these playoffs.

all i saw during these playoffs from him was a player who literally has a ahl quality hockey iq. sure he might have speed and a build but when i watched him he never really used the speed. someone who always used there speed was someone like tuch. i was always waiting for the time for virtanen to get his legs moving but he never really had that. idrk whats wrong with him

some poeple say confidence or that he doesnt care about hockey that much but he jsut seems like a stupid hockey player. 

 

for example: most of the time i would see him on rushes he would use his speed or cut wide to get past the defender and then shoot a weak shot at a very bad angle

secondly whenever there was a cycle or picking up a dead puck along the boards he would never do proper hockey play. it seems he would just pass or try to dump the puck in more in sake of just getting rid of it rather then making a play.

 

the playoffs have been done for a while so i cant remember specific details but all i remember is that whenever i saw him i was let down, alot of times i would see a "dumb" play and virtanen would be involved. i remember on the pp he should have mad the pass to the point it was obvious and empty and he just dumped it deep down weakly lost the puck and the puck was cleared. in game 5 against stl was probably his best game but in all honestly it was pretty lucky. the first goal he had the puck and got pressured and literally passed the puck like a grenade. secondly the goal that he scored i honestly dont think he thought on that play. he picked up the puck and just shot it at allen and hoped it would go in but that was just luck. honeslty watch the game 5 stl highlights and i hope you guys see what i mean.

 

i honestly think being a top 6 forward is over for him, he just cannot compete along with other top 6 forwards, idk if its a confidence issue or what. 

the only chance i think that he will have being a staple is if hes next to petey on 1st line. if hes on second line hes just gonna bring down the whole line

 

 

discuss

For all of the knocks on Virtanen, we still can’t ignore the fact that the guy was on pace to scoring 20 goals with limited 3rd line minutes and limited PP time.  
 

Virtanen has his warts, but he’s the exact type of guy you take a calculated risk on.  
 

Sign him to a 2 year deal, and let it be known to Jake that it’s do or die time.  

[stawns]

54 minutes ago, spook007 said:

Another JV bashing thread.... 

 

Bring back the real Apollo...

and completely without reason.  Kids improved every single year, despite always getting the stick from TG and never the carrot

[RowdyCanuck]

I'm sorry if Tom Wilson can be a top line player so can Jake ha 

please tell me how high wilsons IQ is ha