Quote:
Originally Posted by nik-
He's not putting up points. And no, points aren't everything, but he's .75 PPG as a RW in his draft year and that's a pretty big red flag that he's going to be a poor producer at the next level. I have seen him that high, but it might have been with the expectation that his production would greatly grow, and it really hasn't.
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Completely agree with your assessment.
Virtanen doesn't really have elite offensive hockey sense. When he enters the zone with the puck he isn't really creative to set up passing plays - just likes to drive wide or to the net hoping to set up a cross-crease tap in.
It works well for him because of his size and speed at this level but it won't at the NHL level where he won't be the biggest fastest strongest guy on the ice at any given time.
He hasn't had to develop a less predictable game yet and probably won't at this point. Not to say he won't be a good NHL player...he just likely won't be a top-line star unless he develops better offensive instincts (something that usually can't be taught).
On another note, this is the kind of year it pays to finish 30th - even if you lose the lottery you can't pick worse than 2nd in a draft with two top consensus players. Wonder if that doesn't come into play for a few NHL teams right now.