Vancouver Canucks Jake Virtanen: NHL vs. AHL in 2016-17

Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen had a tough rookie season and a case can be made for starting him in AHL Utica this year.

Eight of the 30 first-round picks from the 2014 NHL Entry Draft made their debuts in the 2015-16 campaign, including Vancouver Canucks forwards Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen. Since McCann got traded to the Florida Panthers for help on the blue line this offseason, we don’t need to worry about his role anymore. But where does Virtanen slot in for 2016-17?

Thanks to the NHL’s agreement with the Canadian Hockey League, there were only two options for Virtanen: Vancouver Canucks or WHL Calgary Hitmen. The Canucks chose to keep him in Vancouver for the whole season, with exception of the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland, where they loaned Virtanen to Team Canada.

Virtanen had some bad luck — this is you last chance to call him dumb — and took a lazy penalty or two that may or may not have led to a quarterfinal exit against the eventual champions from Finland. After that, many Canucks fans called for him to be sent back to junior, but as I already pointed out at the time, the club made the right decision in keeping him around for the rest of the year.

But now that Virtanen turns 20 years old and is therefore eligible to play for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League, is the NHL still the best option? Let’s discuss.

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