Player Discussion Jake "Big Tuna" Virtanen | XVII Nikolaj Who...?

[DL44]

Fantastic game.

He was a puck hound.
Gonna be a beast of a player in a yr or two.

Utica talk is laughable. He's right where is needs to be... working and earning his way up the ice time chart. Season high in ice for him last night... and all of it deserved.

Seriously tho... put him on the PK!

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Fantastic game.

He was a puck hound.
Gonna be a beast of a player in a yr or two.

Utica talk is laughable. He's right where is needs to be... working and earning his way up the ice time chart. Season high in ice for him last night... and all of it deserved.

Seriously tho... put him on the PK!

Cant believe peeps are saying he needs to play in Utica...His overall play has really been coming around lately...With that,comes trust from coach Green (notice in the TOR/CAR games who he's throwing out there with a couple minutes to close out the game...Jake).

 

[Bleach Clean]

I am surprised at how negative this thread is (lol well actually I shouldn't be)

I think Virtanen is showing more and more good signs even though his complete game is not all together yet. Green is trusting him more, player him later in games. He was physical last night, he was back checking, He was playing with speed. I thought that line played pretty well and caused the Canes some problems. He did drive to the net once, which yes, he absolutely needs to do more of but I think confidence grows from playing regular minutes and getting into the flow of the game.

I think working with Green is the best thing. I really disagree with burying him in Utica at this point if you want something long term out of this player. I also think he has done enough of what has been asked of him, has played well enough, has showed enough he deserves to be in Vancouver.

Not to mention...with Dorsett gone.. do you want Virtanen in Utica so we have a forward group without a player who will actually throw a body check?

This kind of post is typical after a good performance by the player. The issue with Jake is that he's not consistent. Nobody, including the coach, knows what Jake will put forth game to game. He can have a good game. He can follow that up with a stinker. He can also be invisible. Jake is so erratic that no one can bank on what he will do. That's why development time in the AHL was put forth as a solution.

I highly suspect they will not send him down no matter how poorly he plays. The optics would be unimaginable -- regardless of what would be best for the player long-term.

 

[TheWanderer]

This kind of post is typical after a good performance by the player. The issue with Jake is that he's not consistent. Nobody, including the coach, knows what Jake will put forth game to game. He can have a good game. He can follow that up with a stinker. He can also be invisible. Jake is so erratic that no one can bank on what he will do. That's why development time in the AHL was put forth as a solution.

I highly suspect they will not send him down no matter how poorly he plays. The optics would be unimaginable -- regardless of what would be best for the player long-term.

Yeah, reliability goes a long way. It's just the way it is. No different in any other industry. In construction, half the crew shows up 3 days a week and you don't even know which days they miss (usually monday is a pretty good guess).

I'm not sure the AHL is necessarily the solution, personally. I think it could make the problem worse, if last year is any evidence. The other thing is that Virtanen has become Green's project. No sense sending him down to be coached by someone else. It's just the circumstance, really, and if Jake's minutes get limited because he is an unreliable player, what do you really do? There are probably more productive ways to send a message than sending someone to the minors. It's easy for us to say, but for Jake that's a pretty big deal. How about Jake walks home after a bad game instead of riding in the fancy limo?

It's just one of those things. He's here because of potential. You wont activate it in the AHL, so whatever. Doesn't hurt me to have him in the lineup, and I don't really care about Aquaf***'s paycheck. I also don't think Jake moping in the AHL gets us any closer to a cup down the road, either. It'll either iron itself out or it just wont. Guy's young, who the hell knows. Maybe he forgets his things in places more often than we realize, and it actually affects him, day to day?

 

[rune74]

I don't see this inconsistency that some are peddling here. He is still learning obviously. There are ups and downs with that.

 

[skyo]

Fantastic game.

He was a puck hound.
Gonna be a beast of a player in a yr or two.

Yuppers just like Green says, his best years is gonna be when JV is around 23-24 in beastmode.

 

[RobertKron]

I don't see this inconsistency that some are peddling here. He is still learning obviously. There are ups and downs with that.

So, you mean inconsistency.

 

[Wo Yorfat]

Still hope for Jake. No reason he can't have an Isbister kinda career.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Kind of shocking he has 0 penalty minutes this year.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

There's only one or two Canucks that I don't find to be inconsistent to some degree.

I think that this has been a great development year for Jake so far. For the most part I like what I've seen and have some hope that eventually we will have an impact player on our hands.

 

[DL44]

I don't see this inconsistency that some are peddling here. He is still learning obviously. There are ups and downs with that.

Edit.. beaten by kron

On the scale of consistency for this team... Jake is on the higher end of that scale currently with How he plays. That's the important part.
The scoring consistency... may take a bit.

 

[Cupless44]

This kind of post is typical after a good performance by the player. The issue with Jake is that he's not consistent. Nobody, including the coach, knows what Jake will put forth game to game. He can have a good game. He can follow that up with a stinker. He can also be invisible. Jake is so erratic that no one can bank on what he will do. That's why development time in the AHL was put forth as a solution.

I highly suspect they will not send him down no matter how poorly he plays. The optics would be unimaginable -- regardless of what would be best for the player long-term.

Not sure what you have been watching over the first 30 games but overall Virtanen has been fine in very limited ice time. His game is still a work in progress but he has been noticeable more nights than not. You can see his game improving as the season goes along.

No way he deserves to be in Utica. He is working hard. A fair number of forwards on this team that should be out of the line up before Jake. I also think he will provide more offence if he is given more opportunity.

 

[Cupless44]

I don't see this inconsistency that some are peddling here. He is still learning obviously. There are ups and downs with that.

Kind of weird actually.

We are not talking about inconsistency with Vanek or the Sedins who are invisible many nights...like last night when the team needed them to do something with Bo and Sutter out.

 

[CanaFan]

Kind of weird actually.

We are not talking about inconsistency with Vanek or the Sedins who are invisible many nights...like last night when the team needed them to do something with Bo and Sutter out.

I agree with this. Jake IS quite inconsistent as his game ebbs and flows quite noticeably. At the same time that can be said of many players both on this team and around the league. The notion of sending him to the AHL until he eradicates all traces of inconsistency from his game is both unrealistic and unfair. Only the most elite players in the NHL manage consistently high play for the majority of the season and Jake will never be one of those. Hell even Boeser waxes from dominant games to invisible games and no one suggests demoting him until he is dominant every single game. Inconsistency shouldn’t be the goal, rather the quality of play (esp offensively) in his good games.

 

[Gaunce4gm]

Even just looking at the point production, he's now our 9th leading point producer among forwards with Dorsett being out.

With Horvat and maybe Baertschi (hopefully not) he could be up to 7th in terms of production among active forwards.

I'm writing this off the top of my head but I believe most (if not all) of his production has been at even strength.

He also gets the lowest TOI per game on the team.

He consistently is one of the best if not the absolute best CF% players (last night he was THE best at 55% CF)

His other underlying numbers put him firmly in the more than holding his own category for NHL players.

He's the fastest player on the whole team, and the entire Canucks system at this time.

He plays a physical game (which can't be said for many of our forwards this year)

He is GOOD defensively, he backchecks hard (remember that sure goal he saved by skating his a** off and tipping away the puck?) and he's disciplined. (0 PIM)

And the reason I like him is because he's genuinely FUN to watch.

He's young, enthusiastic he can absolutely turn on the jets and bring the whole arena to their feet with a goal or a huge hit. I genuinely want him to succeed.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Even just looking at the point production, he's now our 9th leading point producer among forwards with Dorsett being out.

With Horvat and maybe Baertschi (hopefully not) he could be up to 7th in terms of production among active forwards.

I'm writing this off the top of my head but I believe most (if not all) of his production has been at even strength.

He also gets the lowest TOI per game on the team.

He consistently is one of the best if not the absolute best CF% players (last night he was THE best at 55% CF)

His other underlying numbers put him firmly in the more than holding his own category for NHL players.

He's the fastest player on the whole team, and the entire Canucks system at this time.

He plays a physical game (which can't be said for many of our forwards this year)

He is GOOD defensively, he backchecks hard (remember that sure goal he saved by skating his a** off and tipping away the puck?) and he's disciplined. (0 PIM)

And the reason I like him is because he's genuinely FUN to watch.

He's young, enthusiastic he can absolutely turn on the jets and bring the whole arena to their feet with a goal or a huge hit. I genuinely want him to succeed.

Good post..JV's game has really been coming along the last little while..Green had positive reviews for him in the Calgary loss..I think that with the latest slew of injuries,we're going to see his ice time increase..He deserves it.

 

[LeftCoast]

Even just looking at the point production, he's now our 9th leading point producer among forwards with Dorsett being out.

With Horvat and maybe Baertschi (hopefully not) he could be up to 7th in terms of production among active forwards.

I'm writing this off the top of my head but I believe most (if not all) of his production has been at even strength.

He also gets the lowest TOI per game on the team.

He consistently is one of the best if not the absolute best CF% players (last night he was THE best at 55% CF)

His other underlying numbers put him firmly in the more than holding his own category for NHL players.

He's the fastest player on the whole team, and the entire Canucks system at this time.

He plays a physical game (which can't be said for many of our forwards this year)

He is GOOD defensively, he backchecks hard (remember that sure goal he saved by skating his a** off and tipping away the puck?) and he's disciplined. (0 PIM)

And the reason I like him is because he's genuinely FUN to watch.

He's young, enthusiastic he can absolutely turn on the jets and bring the whole arena to their feet with a goal or a huge hit. I genuinely want him to succeed.

I agree. He needs 2 things for his offensive game to take off, a C who can get him the puck in transition, and he needs to learn how to protect the puck when he cuts to the net. Too often a timely stick breaks up his power move.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Really enjoying watching Virtanen's continued development. Hope that Green continues to give him more time and situations to put his skills to use.

 

[Addison Rae]

i actually think he's been very good with gaunce, i'd leave them together.

 

[Slapshot_11]

still think he should be in the ahl

 

[MS]

It's weird - I haven't found Virtanen to be inconsistent this year at all. He's finding ways to use his speed to get a couple chances in almost every game, has consistently skated pretty well, and consistently wastes a lot of the good work he's done by shooting from poor positions. He's had two VERY good games where he was one of the better players on the ice but other than that I actually think he's been very consistent in what he's doing.

The Sedins, on the other hand, have turned into complete Jekyll/Hyde players. Half the time they turn back the clock and look great, half the time they look like they're skating in molasses and should have retired 3 years ago. Del Zotto likewise has been all over the map.

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

Probably the only guy on the team that puts fear in the opposing dmen during a forecheck.

Im loving the way he is progressing. Id love to see him take the puck to the net more instead of just firing shots from the wing. This way he create havoc and a scorif opportunity for his linemates or at least draw a penalty.

 

[sting101]

Still hope for Jake. No reason he can't have an Isbister kinda career.

Strange comp?

Isbister was a huge slug with good hands and soft as butter.

Gaunce4GM said it best. He's coming along nicely and if he can play his way into some PP time i feel his production could really take off.

 

[RobertKron]

Strange comp?

Isbister was a huge slug with good hands and soft as butter.

Who had a 10-year NHL career, where he was in or around 20ish-goals in his prime.

 

[sting101]

Who had a 10-year NHL career, where he was in or around 20ish-goals in his prime.

It's still a strange comp and not really putting a lot of faith in Jake's talents.

Sure if you want to just look at stats but i don't see a lot of similarities between the 2.