I'm no scout but by my read dal Colle is a much better prospect. Virtanen has alot of sizzle, nice shot, speed, the like. But unless he changes his game and can establish himself as a down low, off the cycle kind of offensive player then I just don't see him being a scoring player in the league. So many of those goals in the highlight videos at least just would not happen at the NHL level and the problem is that those appear to be most of his goals. Off the rush, or with alot of space to let off a bomb. I mean he could continue to mature and iron his game out but I see alot of downside.
dal Colle is basically the opposite. He's already playing a game much more suited to NHL success. Lots of John Leclair in his game which I really like. He's really good in tight and in traffic, finds the puck and gets it off with no space or time. He can slow the game down and can make plays in traffic. Not nearly as flashy as Virtanen but the skill set is much more aligned to the NHL. Also, he's a great skater as well and does all the other without the puck play of a budding complete player.
If the Flames are picking 5th and pass over dal Colle for Virtanen I'll be questioning that. But again, what do I know?
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