I always think of Jeff Skinner when people talk about Virtanen. I don't follow any of it closely enough to compare the players but the story feels similar - a physically mature goals scorer who doesn't crack the top five because he isn't 'elite' but sure seems effective.
Am I crazy or is Virtanen touching gloves with the Moose Jaw bench after he scores at the 2 minute mark in that video?
The only concern with Virtanen would be that he doesn't seem to use his linemates well, but he has the speed, size, and strength to be a great scorer. People mentioned his quick release but his backhand was impressive in that video too.
Anybody who follows the Hitmen closely know who Virtanen plays with regularly?
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 03-24-2014 at 03:15 PM.
From watching this video specifically, he has bits of everything that you need, but nothing at an elite level. In that manner he's a bit like Monahan, albeit at a lesser level in virtually every way than Mono is.
Virtanen should become a solid secondary player, and anyone picking in the 7-10 range should be thrilled to get him. However, because he doesn't have that upper level skill, you're likely looking at someone that's more of a second liner at the NHL level if that.
That's not knocking him at all, he should be a successful pick for where he should go. However with the Flames likely picking in the 4-6 range, it would be a bit of a bad pick with guys that do have higher level skill like Ehlers Draisaitl, Dal Colle on the board.
Color me crazy but that video has all kinds of elite unless your looking for a bunch of Hemsky type slick dangles.
Punishing 6'2 215lb wingers who skate and shoot like that are elite.
It reminds of the Cory Perry draft, big strong kid who loved to mix it up and go to the net but scouts didn't think he had the toolbox to succeed...wrong!
And what's realy scary is Virtanen is a better skater and shooter then Perry was.
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Color me crazy but that video has all kinds of elite unless your looking for a bunch of Hemsky type slick dangles.
Punishing 6'2 215lb wingers who skate and shoot like that are elite.
It reminds of the Cory Perry draft, big strong kid who loved to mix it up and go to the net but scouts didn't think he had the toolbox to succeed...wrong!
And what's realy scary is Virtanen is a better skater and shooter then Perry was.
I agree with you.
So he has top end speed, a great release on his forehand and backhand, good size, and the ability to play physical.
He won't ever be a set up man, but pair him with the right center and you may have an elite winger. Corey Perry and Jeff Carter both came to mind for me after watching that video.
Based on what I've heard and their style of play I think I actually would prefer Virtanen to Dal Colle if the top 4 are gone (Ekblad, Bennett, Reinhart, Draisatl). I have a feeling Dal Colle is being propped up a bit since he already plays with an elite center at the junior level (Scott Laughton).
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 03-24-2014 at 03:51 PM.
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So he has top end speed, a great release on his forehand and backhand, good size, and the ability to play physical.
He won't ever be a set up man, but pair him with the right center and you may have an elite winger. Corey Perry and Jeff Carter both came to mind for me after watching that video.
Based on what I've heard and their style of play I think I actually would prefer Virtanen to Dal Colle if the top 4 are gone (Ekblad, Bennett, Reinhart, Draisatl). I have a feeling Dal Colle is being propped up a bit since he already plays with an elite center at the junior level (Scott Laughton).
That's exactly my top 5 but my order is.
1) Bennett
2) Draisatl
3) Ekblad
4) Reinhart
5) Virtanen
Friken Burke had to get stupid and fire Feaster/Wiser or I might have had nugget or two on who the flames liked.
Virtanen's hockey sense isn't great, he lacks vision and isn't a good playmaker.
Basically his go-to move is enter the zone and try to use his speed to get around the outside and either cut in front or just blindly throw the puck to the middle hoping someone is there.
That stuff won't work in the NHL.
Looks like a future Rene Bourque.
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Color me crazy but that video has all kinds of elite unless your looking for a bunch of Hemsky type slick dangles.
Punishing 6'2 215lb wingers who skate and shoot like that are elite.
It reminds of the Cory Perry draft, big strong kid who loved to mix it up and go to the net but scouts didn't think he had the toolbox to succeed...wrong!
And what's realy scary is Virtanen is a better skater and shooter then Perry was.
The thing is that not everyone progresses beyond what they are when they are 18, and some only progress a little. Others put everything together.
He's a top prospect, but not the top prospect. There's less guarantee that the guy will figure things out. He should be a decent NHLer, but he'd have to take a huge leap forward to be a top end guy. Perry is an example of someone that was okay, but took a huge leap forward, similar to how Brodie has emerged as a top pairing guy. Betting a top 5 pick that he will take those steps forward is needlessly risky, when there are others that have those highest end tools in hand.
Also, drafting for size alone is terrible. Virtanen and Ritchie are not in the same class offensively as Draisaitl, Ehlers, Bennett, Reinhart or to a lesser extent Dal Colle. I know how necessary it is to have more size out there, but we need talent more and I would take a slightly smaller guy in Ehlers (5-11) or Bennett (6-0) who looks like he could be an impact player than someone that's only a bit taller, Virtanen is only 6-1, and Ritchie is only 6-2. When all of these guys fill out in a few years, they'll be roughly the same weight. It's not like Virtanen or Ritchie are 6-5 or something.
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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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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?
Good post. I appreciate your talking about the differences in each others games. Much better than saying in Vertanen's case, he doesn't do anything elite.
So he has top end speed, a great release on his forehand and backhand, good size, and the ability to play physical.
He won't ever be a set up man, but pair him with the right center and you may have an elite winger. Corey Perry and Jeff Carter both came to mind for me after watching that video.
Based on what I've heard and their style of play I think I actually would prefer Virtanen to Dal Colle if the top 4 are gone (Ekblad, Bennett, Reinhart, Draisatl). I have a feeling Dal Colle is being propped up a bit since he already plays with an elite center at the junior level (Scott Laughton).
Dal Colle doesn't even play with Laughton a lot from what i have heard so far this year. 6 points so far in the playoffs and the only one Laughton is in on is a powerplay point. Dal Colle is on another level than Virtanen
[Edit] To add to this Laughton has been on 31.5% of Dal Colle's offense 19 pp and 11 es not much of a bump. Just from the stats it looks like he plays mostly with H. Smith and Sterk two less than ppg forwards while getting first unit pp with Laughton.
Last edited by YogiBerra; 03-24-2014 at 05:30 PM.
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Depending where the Flames wind up picking, I'd love to see them snag Brendan Perlini. Big, skilled, and hard-working - seems like the ideal Burkie draft pick.
The thing is that not everyone progresses beyond what they are when they are 18, and some only progress a little. Others put everything together.
He's a top prospect, but not the top prospect. There's less guarantee that the guy will figure things out. He should be a decent NHLer, but he'd have to take a huge leap forward to be a top end guy. Perry is an example of someone that was okay, but took a huge leap forward, similar to how Brodie has emerged as a top pairing guy. Betting a top 5 pick that he will take those steps forward is needlessly risky, when there are others that have those highest end tools in hand.
Also, drafting for size alone is terrible. Virtanen and Ritchie are not in the same class offensively as Draisaitl, Ehlers, Bennett, Reinhart or to a lesser extent Dal Colle. I know how necessary it is to have more size out there, but we need talent more and I would take a slightly smaller guy in Ehlers (5-11) or Bennett (6-0) who looks like he could be an impact player than someone that's only a bit taller, Virtanen is only 6-1, and Ritchie is only 6-2. When all of these guys fill out in a few years, they'll be roughly the same weight. It's not like Virtanen or Ritchie are 6-5 or something.
It is tough to really say who is in what class in junior from an offensive standpoint. Let's just compare Ehlers and Ritchie for an example.
Ritchie is 'the guy' on his team, and puts up points nightly. Monahan was 'the guy' on his team as well, and got the same number of points.
Ehlers has Drouin to play with. How many more points would Ritchie get playing with Drouin?
Also, you have to look at how they translate to the NHL - is Ehlers more of a Brendl type (I know he isn't) or is he more of a MacKinnon type (again, not a good comparison either). Is Ritchie really a Bertuzzi, or is he more of a Ben Eager? Scouts say that his game translates well to the NHL, but that is far from a guarantee anyways.
I do know what you mean, however - Ehlers' skills are off the charts. How much of that ends up translating however? (I don't know myself).
Also, Ritchie is 6'3", 229. That is a big player, especially with the skill-set he has and the speed/agility he possesses. Ehlers and Ritchie will not fill out and be 'close in size' at all. Not by a long shot.
I am not trying to say that Ritchie would be a better pick than Ehlers here - I really don't know as I haven't seen much of either of them to know for sure. I am just not quite agreeing with how you are judging them at the moment. I have my own reservations about Ritchie - especially his past injury worries - and I am sort of 'indifferent' to him at the moment (though I can see Burke taking a keen interest in him).
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