Mëds wrote:
I agree that he shouldn't be on the big club this year. Ideally he's in the AHL, the CHL would pit him against boys who he can easily dominate with his physical game and that won't force him to work on the game between his ears.
Hard to say he'd be dominating the junior world when he's done absolutely nothing against teenagers at this tournament. You can probably count on one hand the number of good plays he's made with the puck. That's not good for a 19-year old, top-10 pick coming from the NHL.
He's never really dominated the WHL. I say let him go back there, try to put up that 100+-point pace, play big minutes and be a go-to guy. It appears to have done wonders for Draisaitl.
If you are judging him based on the WJC then that's a waste. The entire team looks terrible. With the exception of 2 or 3 players.
Sure, the whole team has been terrible. But your best players are supposed to be your best players. It's a 19-year olds tournament, and our 19 year olds have been invisible.
I've been hard on Virtanen but IMO he is still the right choice at that draft. You can't just ice a top 6 forward group of 5'11" - 170 lb skilled small guys or you end up like the Oilers. It's the NHL for fuck sakes. Ehlers has gone completely ice cold since Sbisa laid him out. He has 5 goals and 7 assists in 37 games but nearly all of those points came prior to Sbisa smoking him and that is the problem with the small guys. Finding big skilled power forwards to play in your top 6 is as tough as finding that no. 1 defenceman. Either way, Jake is big, has the wheels, has the shot, loves to hit, he will be a very serviceable player for us.
Their are only two players picked after Jake that may look to be the better pick right now than Virtanen - Larkin and a big maybe to Nylander. Ritchie ain't doing anything more special than Virtanen. Perlini, Kapanen and Fleury are not better picks.
RoyalDude wrote:Blackwood is a sieve. Canada hasn't had stellar goaltending in years at the WJC's. WTF
That, and our defence is awful. That first goal was a terribad no-pressure pass from Hickey (?) into the feet of his d-partner (Fleury?). The second one is all on Hickey, who apparently has trouble skating.
There we go, finally a nice play from Jake. Good forecheck, turnover and finding a teammate.
theman wrote:Jake has been much more noticeable in today's game. Hopefully he can keep it up.
Yep. Created the turnover and got an assist on Canada's 3rd goal, then strong net drives that created the current Canadian PP. Easily the best 1/2 game of the tournament for Jake...
AND then goes and take a holding the stick penalty, wiping out a potential 5-on-3. The good, followed by the ugly.
RoyalDude wrote:I've been hard on Virtanen but IMO he is still the right choice at that draft. You can't just ice a top 6 forward group of 5'11" - 170 lb skilled small guys or you end up like the Oilers. It's the NHL for fuck sakes. Ehlers has gone completely ice cold since Sbisa laid him out. He has 5 goals and 7 assists in 37 games but nearly all of those points came prior to Sbisa smoking him and that is the problem with the small guys. Finding big skilled power forwards to play in your top 6 is as tough as finding that no. 1 defenceman. Either way, Jake is big, has the wheels, has the shot, loves to hit, he will be a very serviceable player for us.
Their are only two players picked after Jake that may look to be the better pick right now than Virtanen - Larkin and a big maybe to Nylander. Ritchie ain't doing anything more special than Virtanen. Perlini, Kapanen and Fleury are not better picks.
Everyone needs to lay off Jake, myself included.
No maybe. Nylander leaves the AHL in scoring at 19. That virtually never happends.
And the Oilers problems have nothing to do with size. They have failed at everything except winning the draft lottery. They can't pick a good player outside the first round if their life depended on it.
I don't think the team could have done anything else with Virtanen.. Had to keep him up with the big team. It's a fault that teams are not allowed an age exception on their farm teams. If he could have been sent to Utica, he probably would have. But he wouldn't have developed with another year in Calgary.. Jake is nothing more than a victim of the day his parents banged, nothing more.
And Rummy, you need to take a chill pill.. Power forwards traditionally take longer to develop. Neely and Bertuzzi did not develop overnight. Cut the kid some slack.
The 'Chain of Command' is the chain I am going to beat you with until you understand I am in charge.
