I'm almost positive he got injured in the second game. He was flying around and playing ultra-aggressive hockey at first but deteriorated as the tournament went on. He was playing very tentative and floating from the quarter finals onward. Very concerning if he got injured again or if I'm incorrect and his play just dropped way off.
It's possible. He didn't play for the Hitmen last night in Moose Jaw, but Point didn't play for the Warriors either so it's likely they didn't come back from Toronto in time.
We'll see if he dresses tonight against Swift Current.
If I had to draw an NHL comparison for Virtanen it would be E Kane, very similar play styles IMO.
Virtanen hit in gold medal game: http://gfycat.com/AltruisticEnragedHomalocephale
He is nowhere near as skilled as Evander Kane but he does have a much better attitude.
Wheres the one he got a penalty for , wasnt a penalty imo
I recall that hit being a forearm/elbow to the head. Clear penalty imo.
The boarding penalty in question
Re: the penalty, that's just international junior hockey. Hard clean hits are penalties constantly. Charing and boarding are two very ambiguously defined penalties, in the CHL (and the AHL and NHL) it's really only the super violent, nasty hits that get you boarding/charging, while in international hockey, especially with kids, pretty much any decently hard hit can get you 2 minutes. I don't like it either, but they've called it that way for as long as I can remember.
He is nowhere near as skilled as Evander Kane but he does have a much better attitude.
How is he different from another "Finnish player" Magnus Pääjärvi? They sound a lot similar.
Pääjärvi had 12 goals as a 18-year-old in the Swedish Elite. And 5 goals at the adult World Champioships in 9 games. Virtanen has averages 0.5 goals per game in a junior league.Virtanen has a natural talent of putting the puck in the net. That was always MPS' problem, it was his knock even before he was drafted.
All Swedish, no Finish.
Pretty much as clean as it gets just as I recalled
He is nowhere near as skilled as Evander Kane but he does have a much better attitude.
From watching Kane on the Jets for more than 3 seasons, I'd say I've never seen Kane take a shift off. He brings effort and intensity every game. He plays how the coach asks him and where the coach asks him and hasn't sulked when put with slugs. Coaches have rewarded him with plenty of ice-time, including important penalty-killing duties (which he's very good at).
Coach Maurice says that Kane is one of the fittest athletes he's coached, and has an incredible pain threshold to play through injuries.
Is that the "attitude" you are talking about?
Or were you referring to a couple of silly pictures he posted on social media?
If you were to ask me for a difference between Kane and Virtanen at this point, I would say that Kane is more consistent in his effort and intensity. They both have deficiencies in vision and offensive creativity.
Virtanen is not all about scoring, he protected teammates, he hit like a truck, and had a solid forecheck.Pääjärvi had 12 goals as a 18-year-old in the Swedish Elite. And 5 goals at the adult World Champioships in 9 games. Virtanen has averages 0.5 goals per game in a junior league.