Vancouver Canucks: 5 Players Who Could Score More Goals in 2016-17

Jake Virtanen

2015-16 Points: 7 goals, 13 points in 55 games.

2016-17 Potential Goal Total: 15

Jake Virtanen was not eligible for the AHL last season, so management was faced with a decision — send him back to junior after nine games, or keep him with the Canucks for the entire season.

Virtanen impressed Vancouver Canucks brass enough that they chose the latter.

His abilities are not in question — Jake is strong and fast, and has good hands. What drew criticism was his inconsistency. There were short bursts when Virtanen was a game-changer for the Canucks, interspersed with periods where he was at best, invisible, at worst, a liability.

Even his teammates voiced this opinion during the season: Virtanen wasn’t expected to be the goal-scoring saviour; he just needed to show up and contribute every day.

The good news for fans is that, despite some inconsistency, Jake Virtanen scored 7 goals in the NHL as a 19-year-old. The even better news is that, like Horvat and Baertschi, he became more prominent on the scoresheet in the back half of the year, scoring six of his seven goals after January 1st.

What Virtanen will need to get there: 

Stay out of the doghouse. You can’t score if you don’t play; and Jake Virtanen won’t play if coach Willie Desjardins feels he cannot trust the young Virtanen to play a complete pro game.

For Virtanen, simple things like defensive-zone coverage, backchecking, and consistent efforts in practices and workouts are as much a key to offense as they are to maturing as a player.

Coach Desjardins is clearly willing to incorporate young players into his roster, but he also expects those young players to be contributing to the team’s success and not standing in the way. With a year of pro experience under his belt, there’s a chance Jake Virtanen can convince his coach to keep him in the line-up and expand his ice-time.

Persistence. The key to Virtanen’s success is his physical game.

The Canucks want Virtanen to take the body on opponents as often as he can (provided he stays within the rules!). They also believe that Virtanen will be most successful when he drives the front of the net.

Related: Analytics say Jake Virtanen is Carrying His Teammates

Both of those things require Virtanen to show some tenacity — standing in the face of opposing goaltenders is an invitation to get assaulted by NHL defensemen. When Virtanen enters a rough stretch where he is not enjoying offensive success, he must resist temptations to become a perimeter player.

Jake Virtanen is a power forward; if he wants to be an effective one at the NHL level, he has to take the physical punishment and keep coming back for more.

Bottom Line: Jake Virtanen needs to learn how to be a pro.

Jake Virtanen’s numbers from his first season were not eye-popping. But watching his game and digging into his numbers show that Virtanen had stretches where he was highly effective.

All Virtanen needs to do is learn how to be that effective more often.

Next: Number 4: Brandon Sutter