Canucks Young Guns

[Island Nucklehead]

Lol. who did we have that was better? Vey, Etem, Higgings, Cracknell, Gaunce, Prust, Shinkaruk,Kennins?? Or was there someone else last year that was any better than either of those 2?

I don't see it as a bad thing playing JV last season. Some thrive. Some struggle. <Meh> JV struggled. </Meh>

Gaunce, for one, had a better training camp than Jake.

[Tciso]

Lol. who did we have that was better? Vey, Etem, Higgings, Cracknell, Gaunce, Prust, Shinkaruk,Kennins?? Or was there someone else last year that was any better than either of those 2?

I don't see it as a bad thing playing JV last season. Some thrive. Some struggle. <Meh> JV struggled. </Meh>

Gaunce, for one, had a better training camp than Jake.

Excuse me for asking, but so what?? Gaunce has proven to be an average 4th liner so far this season, and he definitely did not out-play JV or McCann last season.

Having said that, I still hope that Gaunce can be a top quality 4th liner, or even a 3rd liner.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Oh fuck off about making excuses about Virtanen & his development by the team, it's his own god damn fault for acting like a spoiled princess and not taking his chance/career seriously enough like a young hardworking Bo Horvat.

The entire veteran Canucks squad doesn't like Virtanen's work ethic, that much is apparent.

The fact that it took coaching and management staff the entire season to figure out these two kids weren't ready and were entitled brats is very telling. It's on the players, but it's also on the guys calling the shots. There was NO reason these kids had to be shoehorned con to the team before they were ready.

Lol. who did we have that was better? Vey, Etem, Higgings, Cracknell, Gaunce, Prust, Shinkaruk,Kennins?? Or was there someone else last year that was any better than either of those 2?

I don't see it as a bad thing playing JV last season. Some thrive. Some struggle. <Meh> JV struggled. </Meh>

If you follow the conversation Skyo was putting the blame 100 % on the two 19 year olds. I was putting some of it on management as well. Point is it your team is that thin that those two players were good enough to make it, then your team is dogshit. Furthermore they could have and should have been sent back to junior during the first half of the year when it was apparent to everyone that they were not close to being ready. The spots could have easily been filled by waivers or minor league callups.

[Topper]

Jake played well the second half of last season and repeated learned from his mistakes. Consistency and play without the puck were his issues.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Jake played well the second half of last season and repeated learned from his mistakes. Consistency and play without the puck were his issues.

I think he had some decent games after the WJC for sure. Leading up to the tournament he was playing poorly and so was Jared. Both have stunk this season in the minors and in the NHL. I have some real concerns whether he hasn't taken a significant step back this year. He's scoring at 20 point pace in the AHL. Guys generally don't improve their numbers when called up to the bigs so I'd say this is a huge red flag unless he starts finding the back of the net.

I hope he can get it together but it's a bit of a boot in the nuts to see all his draft mates playing well and in some cases lighting it up.

[SKYO]

My hope is the Canucks have instructed the Comets/Green-King to get Virtanen working on his defensive side of the game and not to worry about offense, the blueprint for Bo Horvat's development.

[Aaronp18]

My hope is the Canucks have instructed the Comets/Green-King to get Virtanen working on his defensive side of the game and not to worry about offense, the blueprint for Bo Horvat's development.

Trouble being it takes Bo's work ethic and commitment to improvement in order to follow his blueprint for development. From what we've heard that does not exist with Jake.

[Mickey107]

My hope is the Canucks have instructed the Comets/Green-King to get Virtanen working on his defensive side of the game and not to worry about offense, the blueprint for Bo Horvat's development.

Freakin guy got spoiled on steaks last year, now ground beef doesn't work for him.
He better eat something soon or he'll fade into oblivion along with any value to the team.

[SKYO]

My hope is the Canucks have instructed the Comets/Green-King to get Virtanen working on his defensive side of the game and not to worry about offense, the blueprint for Bo Horvat's development.

Trouble being it takes Bo's work ethic and commitment to improvement in order to follow his blueprint for development. From what we've heard that does not exist with Jake.

I concur good sir, which is why Bo got to stick to the big club while Jakester is working on his game down in the farm to row with the other slaves, like a good stubborn lad.

[Strangelove]

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canucks- ... an-15-2017

Utica coach Travis Green was on TSN 1040 on Thursday.

You might be interested in what he had to say about Jake Virtanen.

“I know from the outside he’s not getting the points people wish they’d see out of him, but I like the way he’s progressing. He’s working hard. He’s on the right track.”

Pressed on why Virtanen hasn’t been scoring much lately, here’s what Green said.

“He’s definitely been snakebitten. It’s not like we have an offensive machine down here either – we’ve got to work hard to score. That’s part of it – it’s a tough league to generate offence. We had a stretch where he scored four goals in four games. He’s a shooter, he’s a guy who has to go to the net hard. I’m expecting he’ll get some results.”

http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nh ... s-to-clear

Getting his body and mind in sync is an ongoing process, but Comets coach Travis Green believes the big winger is finally headed in the right direction, despite just seven points (4-3) in his first 24 AHL games after being dispatched to the minors in November.

“He has come here with a good attitude,” said Green. “Sometimes, when players come down, it’s hard to get them into a mindset, but that hasn’t been the case since Day 1 with Jake. He has put in the work because when he first got here, playing 15 minutes was hard and he’s handling them well now.

“He’s getting to play a lot of minutes and getting practices during the week that he doesn’t get in the NHL and that’s all positive stuff for him. And I’m not concerned about his points because we don’t have an offensive group here and we’re constantly changing our lines. We want Jake to develop into a good pro who can play a 200-foot game.”

Virtanen had a run of four goals in five AHL games in December and had six shots Wednesday in a 2-1 win over Syracuse, so whether he’s turning a corner or heading for another wall is of more than passing interest.

[Chef Boi RD]

Ok so just so we're clear here. If Virtanen becomes a Chris Kreider or a prime Evander Kane who scores 50 +points and plays in the top six, Gillis deserves the credit right ?

No. Holy Cow, brah.

Credit goes to Benning for his share in mentoring Gilman and his Gillis cronies if he becomes the next Kreider. Blame goes to Gillis, Gilman and Gillis' cronies for plaquing Benning with their dismal drafting disease if he ends up being a failure. Why do yo think Gilman was given the Gillis walking papers?

[Aaronp18]

That is definitely positive to hear and it's exactly what we need to hear about Jake.

One step at a time, his attitude is what needed working on fist and foremost. To hear good things from the coach is encouraging!

If he is working as hard as Green says he is, with his skillset and size, we should see results sooner rather than later. Good for Jake if he's turned his attitude around!

[Jovocop]

That is definitely positive to hear and it's exactly what we need to hear about Jake.

One step at a time, his attitude is what needed working on fist and foremost. To hear good things from the coach is encouraging!

If he is working as hard as Green says he is, with his skillset and size, we should see results sooner rather than later. Good for Jake if he's turned his attitude around!

Green might very well be the next head coach of the Canucks. If Virtanen responds well to Green, the Canucks might have a player.

[Chef Boi RD]

The Canucks neeeeeeeeeeeeeed Virtanen to pan out.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Ok so just so we're clear here. If Virtanen becomes a Chris Kreider or a prime Evander Kane who scores 50 +points and plays in the top six, Gillis deserves the credit right ?

No. Holy Cow, brah.

Credit goes to Benning for his share in mentoring Gilman and his Gillis cronies if he becomes the next Kreider. Blame goes to Gillis, Gilman and Gillis' cronies for plaquing Benning with their dismal drafting disease if he ends up being a failure. Why do yo think Gilman was given the Gillis walking papers?

Cool , so no agenda.