The mysterious drastic decline of Jake Virtanen

[Reznor]

As has been said extensively, he had the tools. We needed muscle on our team, and while I felt there were better players still on the board, I understood the pick, and believed he was pretty much a sure-fire NHL player... albeit with an unknown ceiling. Turns out his hockey IQ dramatically limited that ceiling, and his poor attitude sealed the deal on his NHL career.

 

It's a real shame, as there were occasional streaks where he showed he really could be a force. Why someone wouldn't want to put the work in when he's handed a multi-million dollar career is beyond me.

[DownUndaCanuck]

20 hours ago, NoCupSyndrome said:

 

Larkin would be my choice 20/20 hindsight and then Pastrnak instead of McCann haha

 

I think the later picks and guys who are taken well after the pick is always tricky because a lot of teams passed on them and was a bit of a wild-card pick, but when Nylander and Ehlers go directly after Virtanen, you know that was the wrong pick. Same for the Juolevi - Tkachuk pick.

[Miss Korea]

Look at this soft, selfish, Danish guy.  Thank god we didn't draft him...

 

 

 

[AK-19]

I mean he only had one good season. I view it less of a decline as opposed to him just having a lucky year.

[Jack Fig]

Immature + dumb = failure. 

 

Talent doesn't matter at that point. 

[Bounce000]

9 goals and 19 points in 65 AHL games.

Management: Let’s give him a spot on the Canucks next season

[NHL97OneTimer]

Time and time again, history shows that the hardest workers and those who dedicate themselves to the art will be the more successful ones over than those who rely on talent alone.  Jake's talent was his size in juniors.  In the NHL he wasn't the biggest fish in the tank anymore, nor was he a hard worker (NHL standards), nor was he dedicated, nor was he the most talented.  It was a terrible draft pick because they didn't assess his character well.  

 

Not drafting Tkachuk was terrible on hindsight, but I can't fault the club for being hesitant given the Virtanen pick and Tkachuk's attitude.  Where Tkachuk was different was his work ethic.  But hey, look where the Canucks are at without a high priced punk on the team.

[Kevin Biestra]

8 hours ago, NHL97OneTimer said:

Time and time again, history shows that the hardest workers and those who dedicate themselves to the art will be the more successful ones over than those who rely on talent alone.  Jake's talent was his size in juniors.  In the NHL he wasn't the biggest fish in the tank anymore, nor was he a hard worker (NHL standards), nor was he dedicated, nor was he the most talented.  It was a terrible draft pick because they didn't assess his character well.  

 

Not drafting Tkachuk was terrible on hindsight, but I can't fault the club for being hesitant given the Virtanen pick and Tkachuk's attitude.  Where Tkachuk was different was his work ethic.  But hey, look where the Canucks are at without a high priced punk on the team.

 

Seriously, we had Rich Sutter for years.  The least talented of the six Sutters that made the NHL but a reliable workhorse and a better Canuck than Jake Virtanen ever was.

 

Burrows, etc.  The list goes on and on.

[Blue]

On 11/14/2023 at 4:26 AM, LaBamba said:

Drugs, a shocking amount of decline in NHL careers can be linked to drugs or alcohol. Coke doesn’t stay in your system. It doesn’t mess with nutrition, so alot of players use it. 

 

This is always what I assumed an NHL player from Abbotsford would be like. 

[LaBamba]

1 hour ago, Blue said:

 

This is always what I assumed an NHL player from Abbotsford would be like. 

Hahahaha, you’re actually alright blue. 

[King Heffy]

16 hours ago, NHL97OneTimer said:

Not drafting Tkachuk was terrible on hindsight, but I can't fault the club for being hesitant given the Virtanen pick and Tkachuk's attitude.  Where Tkachuk was different was his work ethic.  But hey, look where the Canucks are at without a high priced punk on the team.

It was still the right move considering the turtle's character issues.  You don't want a gutless piece of trash like him anywhere near your room if you're a respectable team.  He's a talented player but a locker room cancer who consistently disgraces the sport with his refusal to play like a man.

[cripplereh]

To me he was one that needed two years of ahl.

 

They tried to change his game play into something else which made his game suffer.

 

If he would have been sent down for two three years he might still be with the team.

[Jeremy Hronek]

3 hours ago, King Heffy said:

It was still the right move considering the turtle's character issues.  You don't want a gutless piece of trash like him anywhere near your room if you're a respectable team.  He's a talented player but a locker room cancer who consistently disgraces the sport with his refusal to play like a man.

 

Is Tkachuk really a locker room cancer?   I haven't heard any reports out of Florida and even the rumoured ongoings in Calgary seemed farfetched/fabricated.  

 

Tkachuk works his butt off, wins puck battles, is tremendous defensively, and produces goals.  The dude is a terrific hockey player.  Yes he can be dirty at times, and sometimes does avoid fights/turtles, but he probably has answered the bell more times than not.  

 

He's a great player.

[steviewonder20]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:49 AM, Alflives said:

Benning picked Jake to put his stamp on the team. 

He was supposed to be Bertuzzi v.2 and our local future power forward. Wasted high draft pick.

[steviewonder20]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:04 AM, Elias Pettersson said:

 

All of the Oilers players in the 1980's were doing blow.  Even Gretzky.  Cocaine is totally legal now.  Lots of people carry it around.  I was at a golf tournament in the summer, and ALOT of people who were there golfing were doing blow.  Am I'm talking about prominent Vancouver businesspeople, not 19 year old kids.

‘Cocaine and crack are controlled under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Activities such as sale, possession or production of these substances are illegal unless authorized for medical’. 
 

Where is it totally legal?

[DrJockitch]

2 minutes ago, steviewonder20 said:

‘Cocaine and crack are controlled under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Activities such as sale, possession or production of these substances are illegal unless authorized for medical’. 
 

Where is it totally legal?

ENT docs often use cocaine hydrochloride for some procedures, used to be used for nosebleeds too. Clearly it is le[t locked up and carefully monitored in medical situation.  It is a procedural medication, not one that could be prescribed. 

[steviewonder20]

2 hours ago, DrJockitch said:

ENT docs often use cocaine hydrochloride for some procedures, used to be used for nosebleeds too. Clearly it is le[t locked up and carefully monitored in medical situation.  It is a procedural medication, not one that could be prescribed. 

Yep, so its not legal as the OP stated.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:21 PM, Jack Fig said:

Immature + dumb = failure. 

 

Talent doesn't matter at that point. 

Alexander Daigle was like that at one point in his "career".  But seemed to turn it around to being at least somewhat passible NHLer.  Sure a *HUGE* disappointment given where he was drafted but he was able to get his priorities straight under Jacques Lemaire.  Virtanen is his own worst enemy.  It's up to him which path to choose.

[iceman1964]

On 11/14/2023 at 8:02 AM, LillStrimma said:

Attack the man, please enlight me of another GM so stupid.

To hire Ferland with so much concussions so no insurance company dared insure him.
 

It can be another thing. That Benning used the Canucks for his own purposes and didn’t give a damn about the Canucks. 
That can explain why he made such stupid player deals/trades. 
 

Regarding Jake, in the due diligence process you have interviews, check how school work out etc. The scouts must have known Jakes status.

 

I’ve said on CDC I could be a head hunter for the Canucks. That’s because it was a lot of fans that didn’t see what benning did.

Now it’s not needed because Allvin has got rid of the Utica sickness Benning defended.  You probably noticed how effective Allvin neutralised the Utica coach and got rid of him while installing all the extra coaches invluding the Sedins so what happened in Utica won’t happen again. This is a million dollar business and clowns and idiots stay away.
The little bit about Dahlen that makes people like you think I’m bias when I’m using an objective analysis of the situation and have strong ideas how a leader should act in all situations.

 

And the reason why I use stronger adjectives at the end is the bashing of Linden.

Linden is way above Benning as a leader, in honesty and whatever you can think of. 
So if anyone talks shit about Linden I go harder on Benning and shoe how bad he was. 

Yeah but your not very bright to begin with... Obviously... 

[Diamonds]

15 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Alexander Daigle was like that at one point in his "career".  But seemed to turn it around to being at least somewhat passible NHLer.  Sure a *HUGE* disappointment given where he was drafted but he was able to get his priorities straight under Jacques Lemaire.  Virtanen is his own worst enemy.  It's up to him which path to choose.

He already chose it. Despite getting bought out by Vancouver and no NHL team wanting him after his PTO with the Oilers, he was still enough of a prick that his teammates in the Swiss League kicked him off the team. Now he's less than a PPG in the DEL. He's had a lot of chances and at this point I find it hard to believe that something is just going to magically click.

 

Edit: I just realized there are a lot of ex-Canucks playing in the DEL this year. Linden Vey, Alex Grenier, and Joseph Cramarossa are all outscoring Jake and Alex Friesen, Dane Fox, and Darren Archibald are all pretty close in points. At least Jake can say he's outscoring Michael Dal Colle.

Edited November 20, 2023 by Diamonds

[LillStrimma]

51 minutes ago, iceman1964 said:

Yeah but your not very bright to begin with... Obviously... 

you were one of the bunch that thought I had it wrong regarding Benning, Cull etc.

Allvin has proven me right on every count. Everything I said Benning could do better Allvin has done to a tee.

 

I’m sorry if our discussions were another topic than Benning   
I had a fair few back on CDC…

[Ballisticsports]

As soon as he wasn't the big duck in the pond (Jr) and other's were big, fast and strong (NHL). he became like Baby Huey (a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character(

 

 

Once he made the big league (and pay) he seemed content to keep a party lifestyle without training and have drive 

While in Jr. he was bigger, faster, stronger than most, but as other's matured, and sprouted and took their desire to improve,

Jake remained stagnant 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Ballisticsports

[AK-19]

On 11/15/2023 at 11:15 PM, Bounce000 said:

9 goals and 19 points in 65 AHL games.

Management: Let’s give him a spot on the Canucks next season

 

To put that into comparison, Danila Klimovich had 29 points in 67 AHL games at the same age. We'd need at least 4-5 injuries on wing for him to make our line up currently. 

[iinatcc]

3 hours ago, Ballisticsports said:

As soon as he wasn't the big duck in the pond (Jr) and other's were big, fast and strong (NHL). he became like Baby Huey (a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character(

 

 

Once he made the big league (and pay) he seemed content to keep a party lifestyle without training and have drive 

While in Jr. he was bigger, faster, stronger than most, but as other's matured, and sprouted and took their desire to improve,

Jake remained stagnant 

 

 

But but but we just need to be patient. Power forwards take time to develop 

[nergish]

On 11/15/2023 at 12:50 PM, DownUndaCanuck said:

 

I think the later picks and guys who are taken well after the pick is always tricky because a lot of teams passed on them and was a bit of a wild-card pick, but when Nylander and Ehlers go directly after Virtanen, you know that was the wrong pick. Same for the Juolevi - Tkachuk pick.

There’s a pick like Virtanen in every sport.
 

Tall, fast, strong junior goal scorers are always coveted. Not all of them have what it takes between the ears.

 

That said I assumed that year we would have taken Ehlers… he was clearly more talented.