RW Jake Virtanen - Calgary Hitmen, WHL (2014, 6th, VAN) II
- Thread starter JawandaPuck
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I hate the Canucks but this kid is better than what he showed in the WJC. Too bad most people only saw him play the 6 games so they will draw their conclusions from those.
topched88
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- Jan 21, 2007
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I thought he was ok, really good in the first few games and his play fell off after that. I disagree with everyone says he has "poor" hockey sense. I thought his play without the puck was decent, and although he played really physical I liked his balance between attacking the puck and attacking the body depending on the situation.
However I agree that his on ice vision and puck distribution is not a strength of his. Also like many have said his cycle game isn't the best, which is surprising because he seems to play a pretty heavy game and is strong on the puck. But if he was a great passer, had a great cycle game etc he wouldnt have been avaliable at 6, happy with the pick although I thought it was really close between nylander/ehlers/virt. All depends on the type of player you were looking for.
Love
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- Feb 29, 2012
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JV's hit from the gold medal game (re-post from last thread): http://gfycat.com/AltruisticEnragedHomalocephale
The Hitmen make their only national TV appearance this Sunday at 12 PM PST on Sportsnet.
Hopefully fans will tune in to see how Jake performs.
Four videos that highlight his offensive and physical qualities:
lawrence
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- May 19, 2012
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I thought he was alright. He made the team as a draftee, something Max Domi and Nurse wasn't able to do, (they didn't even get invited) so I saw that as a positive.
the hate comes from the franchise he was drafted with.
At least someone had the courage to admit they hated Vancouver but had good words to say about Jake, others who hated him looked for ways to slam him.
He was alright. Did his part as a bottom 6 player, out of the bottom 6, he was by far the most effective of em all, in fact he also played his way onto McDavid's wing for 2 games which is also another positive I took out of his tourny.
looks like a future 50 point player, who makes a lot of hits and score around 25 -30 goals. a punishing player that will force other teams dmans to keep their heads up.
May I ask why do you hate them? I'm just kinda curious what excuse people are using these days. They say the Canucks dive.... to me that's utter garbage because everyone dives.
just curious.
the hate comes from the franchise he was drafted with.
At least someone had the courage to admit they hated Vancouver but had good words to say about Jake, others who hated him looked for ways to slam him.
He was alright. Did his part as a bottom 6 player, out of the bottom 6, he was by far the most effective of em all, in fact he also played his way onto McDavid's wing for 2 games which is also another positive I took out of his tourny.
looks like a future 50 point player, who makes a lot of hits and score around 25 -30 goals. a punishing player that will force other teams dmans to keep their heads up.
May I ask why do you hate them? I'm just kinda curious what excuse people are using these days. They say the Canucks dive.... to me that's utter garbage because everyone dives.
just curious.
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I hate the Canucks because I am a Hawks fan. I hate the Wings and Blues more but the Canucks are up there. Its got little to do with the team anymore although I still dislike Burrows. Most of the guys that I used to really dislike have moved on like Kesler, Lapierre and Torres. Throw in Gillis (for all the whining) and AV too.
As far as these threads go, I find as soon as a player gets drafted, the thread goes downhill. You cannot criticize a prospect because that team's fans will get on you about it meanwhile there will be some that will use the opportunity to slam the player just because they do not like the team.
Anyways I like Virtanen as a prospect, not as much as some selected after him but I don't consider him a bad choice at #6 either. I will find reasons to hate him when he plays for the Canucks but I will never be one to hope that a 18 year old kid fails to live up to his potential just because he got drafted by a team I do not like.
As far as Virtanen's tournament went, he wasn't given the situation to be successful due to the depth of the team. I thought he was doing well in the bottom 6 but Fabbri's injury forced the line juggling and I thought he was never able gel with his linemates when moved up. I hope he comes back next year though. Imo he could use another year in junior from what I have seen of him. The Canucks have the depth that they don't need to rush him into the NHL.
NoRaise4Brackett
But Brackett!!!
Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
- Oct 12, 2008
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Hard to believe these guys are in the NHL already!
Domi's goal was really nice.
All I saw in the Virtanen gif was him repeatedly crossing the red line.
What do you mean?, Does the video not work?.
Here I found a gif of it, in quite good quality.
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Anglesmith
Setting up the play?
Yeah, the vine wasn't working for whatever reason. That gif works, but it's still loading as I'm typing this.
-Inability to make a pass.
-Loses puck crossing blue-line and luckily picks it back up again.
-Causes teammate to fall over.
-Doesn't call his shot.
2/10 would not draft.
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Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
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Jeremy Hronek
Registered User
Not sure what GFY is
You embedded a really crappily optimized gif into the page, which makes it impossible to load. I used the gfy, which loads much faster. Google it.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=83080515#post83080515
Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
- Oct 12, 2008
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StIllmatic
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GFY
Touhou Fanatic
Tobi Wan Kenobi
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polarbearcub
Registered User
12 in last 5 (6 in 2 games this weekend and 6 in 3 last weekend). Seems to have regained his form after the surgery and 5 months off ice. Calgary is also playing a lot better as a whole and with more chemistry. Really excited for Jake to have a strong final 20 games and playoffs.
FLYguy3911
Sanheim Lover
- Oct 19, 2006
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Also had a nice assist on Prince Albert's only goal last night. 
I don't know what Vancouver's plans are for him, but I think he needs another year in the WHL. For every highlight play he makes there are about 3 WTF moments.
There's no doubting the talent. I know its become cliche now, but you can see why people question his IQ and his ability to play in a structured system. Most of his plays are off the rush. He looks lost in the offensive zone at times.
I don't know what Vancouver's plans are for him, but I think he needs another year in the WHL. For every highlight play he makes there are about 3 WTF moments.
There's no doubting the talent. I know its become cliche now, but you can see why people question his IQ and his ability to play in a structured system. Most of his plays are off the rush. He looks lost in the offensive zone at times.
Are you saying that as a generalization on his season to this point, or are you saying he still looks lost in the offensive zone while putting up 12 points in his last 5 games?
Highlights from the game on Hitmen site.
http://hitmenhockey.com/video/50798
Not surprisingly Jake's all over it and moving the puck quite well. Nice goal from the boards as well - barely any release and it goes bar down from the half wall. Didn't catch the whole game so I dunno if he looked lost in the o zone or had 3 WTF plays for every good one but hard to imagine that was the case based on the good plays he did make.
http://hitmenhockey.com/video/50798
Not surprisingly Jake's all over it and moving the puck quite well. Nice goal from the boards as well - barely any release and it goes bar down from the half wall. Didn't catch the whole game so I dunno if he looked lost in the o zone or had 3 WTF plays for every good one but hard to imagine that was the case based on the good plays he did make.
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