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Virtanen has shown flashes of his speed and skill but he does not do it consistently. Sitting out is warranted at times but sometimes you just have to give a young player real opportunity to grow his confidence and that isn't the lowest icetime on the team at 10 minutes a game.
It is a 28th place team. Give him a chance on the power play ... You just might find he progresses a bit more and gains confidence. He has shown enough flashes to show his talent
I agree that Virtanen should be getting more than 10 minutes a game, but I think he should be getting it elsehwere. An NHL coach, any NHL coach, is tasked with winning. The NHL is the elite league-players who have to develop to get to that stage have other places that are intended for that purpose.
Confidence? Where will he develop it best? Playing against the top-rank of players that he's been unable to consistently be good enough so gets less playing time, or against players of a lower level where he
should be good enough to earn playing time from a coach trying to win?
Confidence? Where is he going to get it better-against players his own level in the AHL or the better players in the NHL?
Motivation? What provides it better-getting more playing time and opportunity after a mediocre part-season, or playing in a lower league for much less money?
Playing time? Where is a coach going to give him more playing time? At a high level where there are players who, on average, play more effectively, or at a lower level where he
should be good enough to earn more minutes?
It would be silly to argue Virtanen is too good to develop in the AHL. He played there last season, with 9 goals, 10 assists and -11 in 65 regular season games. He played up in the lineup and ended up lower in the lineup because he wasn't yet effective enough. Only a good preseason kept him in Vancouver for this season. If he isn't going to consistently play to the level of preseason with the Canucks and needs to develop consistency and confidence, there's a place for Canuck prospects to do that.
The Canucks haven't used it much for that purpose (Demko, Gaunce, Baertschi for a short time) but the AHL is, after all, supposed to be a development league, complete with rules to make sure non-veterans get their share of spots in the lineup.
I believe the development of Virtanen has been badly mis-handled. He's a gifted prospect that had a lot to learn about how to be a pro and the more technical aspects of where to be on the ice and what to do with and without the puck. I don't think he should have been playing in the NHL in his D+2 year after his mediocre D + 1 season in junior (and without a 2015 training camp that showed him to be ready.) I don't think he should have started the 2016-17 season in Vancouver after coming to camp overweight and having a poor preseason. Gifting him a spot where he hasn't been good enough just sends the message that he doesn't need to work hard and improve in order to play in the best league in the world.
I don't think he should have started 2017-18 in Vancouver, after his truggles in the NHL and the AHL in 2016-17, despite his good preseason. We've known for a long time he can produce periods of good play, but consistency is a large issue. After being so poor last season I think after his good preseason he should have gone to Utica with the intention of calling him up as an injury replacement. If as an injury replacement he did well consistently he would earn a spot, otherwise he goes back down to work on his game until he can consistently be someone that the coach belives in enough to play him more.
I also believe gifting him more playing time right now would be adding to the errors in development that have already taken place.