Jake Virtanen - Part VI

[lawrence]

as JB said, Roster spots need to be earned.

Hard to believe Linden will hand him a spot so early.

Virtannen will need to earn his spot.

 

[CanaFan]

the problem for me with this is that once they r gone, is Calgary still a contender? if no, i have a weird feeling that Jake's point totals might take a hit again when they r not as good as this yr

Maybe but I have never cared about point totals per se, more concerned that Jake gets opportunity to be the main offensive weapon for the team. 20-25 mins a night, top PP option, relied late in games when trailing. With Tambellini and Rankin there, they seemed to supplant Jake for many of those roles which are critical for his offensive growth.

 

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

Maybe but I have never cared about point totals per se, more concerned that Jake gets opportunity to be the main offensive weapon for the team. 20-25 mins a night, top PP option, relied late in games when trailing. With Tambellini and Rankin there, they seemed to supplant Jake for many of those roles which are critical for his offensive growth.

yeah dont think anyone would mind that either but once Calgary's talent drops, could he also take a hit (talent wise using his skills to his most advantagelsdk;fja) from terrible linemates?

another thing im consistently scratching my head is what kind of new linemates would b much suitable for Jake?

 

[WTG]

Let Jake play on the big club.

He'll need some adjusting but let him play through the growing pains.

 

[MS]

He only moves his feet when he has the puck or has an opportunity to throw a big hit.

Unless he makes huge changes over the summer, he'll get eviscerated playing in the NHL like that. His 200-foot game is at an ECHL level right now.

 

[WTG]

He only moves his feet when he has the puck or has an opportunity to throw a big hit.

Unless he makes huge changes over the summer, he'll get eviscerated playing in the NHL like that. His 200-foot game is at an ECHL level right now.

Disagree.

Virtanen back checks hard. Although sometimes it seems he mentally checks out of the game. Which is concerning.

 

[Tiranis]

Virtanen back checks hard.

Absolutely not. He only back checks hard when he thinks he can steal the puck and turn the play around the other way. The latter is key for him. If it's the end of his shift and he could catch the guy, but doesn't have the stamina to streak the other way then he won't bother. If he's supposed to backcheck to cover his man then he won't do it either.

Seen this over and over over the past two seasons. But more importantly, back-checking is a tiny part of a player's 200ft game.

 

[WTG]

Absolutely not. He only back checks hard when he thinks he can steal the puck and turn the play around the other way. The latter is key for him. If it's the end of his shift and he could catch the guy, but doesn't have the stamina to streak the other way then he won't bother. If he's supposed to backcheck to cover his man then he won't do it either.

Seen this over and over over the past two seasons. But more importantly, back-checking is a tiny part of a player's 200ft game.

I've seen him plenty of times back check hard to stop a breakaway.

But anyway I succeed. I don't actually watch Virtanen exclusively. I am usually jumping around game by game trying gif ****. So I wouldn't know much about the little things that Virtanen does.

 

[me2]

as JB said, Roster spots need to be earned.

Hard to believe Linden will hand him a spot so early.

Virtannen will need to earn his spot.

They say a lot of stuff and don't live up to it. Last year we heard about rookies beating out veterans if they were equal. This year the story seems to be veterans beating out rookies if they are equal. I can see Virtanen making the team because he's physical and physically mature, makes JB look good, PR hyped up the wazoo, and he's cheap when the team is in cap hell.

 

[StroShow]

Virtanen is headed to Utica but will he get into a game ? teams doing pretty well , not sure they want to mess with the chemistry.

 

[Cancuks]

I doubt he sees ice time unless Utica is down a couple of games and need to shake things up.

 

[arttk]

If they penciled him in for next year already, I am pretty certain you will see him playing for the comets. They'll want to see how ready he is.

 

[Proto]

He'd get eaten alive in Utica right now. That's big boy hockey and Jake isn't even a star on his own WHL club. This pick is gonna sting for awhile -- I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up as the "crowning achievement" of this era of Canucks hockey, an emblem of just how devastatingly early this management group lost the plot.

 

[Index]

Exciting player, just needs to be smarter and put in the work ethic, I am confident Travis Green will develop him nicely.

I don't see him playing next year in the Canucks, but I see him on the Comets

 

[Taelin]

He'd get eaten alive in Utica right now. That's big boy hockey and Jake isn't even a star on his own WHL club. This pick is gonna sting for awhile -- I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up as the "crowning achievement" of this era of Canucks hockey, an emblem of just how devastatingly early this management group lost the plot.

The Hitman are terribly coached.

Exciting player, just needs to be smarter and put in the work ethic, I am confident Travis Green will develop him nicely.

I don't see him playing next year in the Canucks, but I see him on the Comets

It's NHL or CHL for Virtanen next season.

 

[MS]

Disagree.

Virtanen back checks hard. Although sometimes it seems he mentally checks out of the game. Which is concerning.

He skates hard when he has a target and an instant reward. If he's the last guy chasing a breakaway, yeah, he'll go.

But he's lousy at keeping his feet moving to play a 200 foot game - skating hard on the backcheck to pick up his man, getting back up the ice to apply forechecking pressure, being hard on the puck in all 3 zones and winning battles. Consistently the last guy floating back into his own zone. Lollygags around like Ovechkin (not 2015 playoffs Ovechkin) away from the puck waiting for the game to come to him.

He'll get shredded in pro hockey playing like this right now. Needs to completely adjust how he approaches each shift when he goes out on the ice.

 

[Tiranis]

Exciting player, just needs to be smarter and put in the work ethic, I am confident Travis Green will develop him nicely.

I don't see him playing next year in the Canucks, but I see him on the Comets

Can't join the AHL until the 2016-2017 season.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

Looking more and more like an awful pick, as I expected.

 

[Proto]

This kid clearly has all the physical tools you dream about. If the problem is really related to coaching/development in Calgary, I wonder if the Canucks don't have him up in Vancouver next year. Maybe you bring him in, scratch him a lot, and show him what he needs to do in terms of work ethic to make it in the league.

I'm not sure if that works or doesn't work, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Canucks go that route. They're probably already building another bedroom at the Dorsett household. Dorsett is going to tuck lil' Jake into bed every night and read him a bed time story about Tortoise and the Hare.

 

[Rick Rocket]

I don't know what people are freakin out yet.
Its so early. I'd like to believe a defensive game and effort can be coached. The kid has wheels and size he uses well and a great shot. Hes super talented and super young.

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

He'd get eaten alive in Utica right now. That's big boy hockey and Jake isn't even a star on his own WHL club. This pick is gonna sting for awhile -- I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up as the "crowning achievement" of this era of Canucks hockey, an emblem of just how devastatingly early this management group lost the plot.

ROFL you've got to "be a star on your own WHL club" before you succeed in the AHL? Oh boy. Prove it.

 

[Hyzer]

I am not sure why JB just doesn't force a trade from calgary to another WHL club if French is as truly bad as everyone thinks. But, JB is the one who chose WD so theres little hope in that regard I suppose

 

[MS]

I am not sure why JB just doesn't force a trade from calgary to another WHL club if French is as truly bad as everyone thinks. But, JB is the one who chose WD so theres little hope in that regard I suppose

French is an excellent, experienced coach who has won a Calder Cup in the AHL and coached and won at almost every level. He's probably one of the best coaches in the WHL and probably has the best resume of anyone in that league right now.

Calgary finished with the 3rd-best record in the WHL and the other highly-drafted guys on their team (Tambellini and Sanheim) had massive breakout seasons under French. And Jake Bean had a huge year as a 16 y/o.

Everything about that team indicates it's well coached. Aside from Virtanen flatlining. So as usual, when a prospect struggles, instead of putting the onus on him to be better ... blame the coach!

 

[Verviticus]

ROFL you've got to "be a star on your own WHL club" before you succeed in the AHL? Oh boy. Prove it.

if you're 18, yes, you have to be a star in the WHL to make it in the AHL

The Hitman are terribly coached.

by what metric or qualification? "number of unsuccessful virtanens"? whats the solution? it would be basically impossible - even if he were a poor coach - for french to be worse than the guy we have in the nhl. demand a trade on his behalf?

 

[CherryToke]

Virtanen will be a physical presence in the playoffs at the very least. I'm not too worried about him.