Vancouver Canucks: Why our perceptions of players change

With the healthy beginning to return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup, I wanted to look at how we look at our own players. Perceptions change and maybe there is a good reason why it happens.

I want to take a different approach to this discussion. We do a lot of spotlights on certain players, for better or worse. If we’re keeping score with Vancouver Canucks players, I tend to take on the pieces skewed towards the latter.

But one thing we as fans don’t always notice in the moment is how our feelings about a particular player can change with time. This does not apply to everyone since some people can hold the same opinion of a player for years and refuse to move away from the same talking points.

However, one thing struck out to me. Jackson McDonald, friend of the site and Associate Editor of CanucksArmy, was discussing how the media handles NIkolay Goldobin and Jake Virtanen differently. These paragraphs in particular stood out to me:

"Both are on pace to destroy career-highs in points, but Goldobin is on pace for just 13 goals, and Virtanen just 10 assists. Both have had some luck through the first quarter of the season, albeit in different ways, and both have undeniably benefited from stints with Elias Pettersson. But one has been a far bigger story this year. […]Goldobin’s not a native English speaker. Virtanen, on the other hand, has quickly established himself as a good quote. That matters more than you might think. Any player who’s willing to give you something you can use is probably going to get more favourable coverage than someone who stonewalls. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact of life."

And he’s not wrong. If we are looking at their current pace, Goldobin is on pace for 50 points while Virtanen is on pace for 38. He mentions how the #ShotgunJake movement helped fuel the support for Jake. Additionally, Virtanen is on pace for 25 goals, something his truthers have been arguing for a long time.

It is odd to me that the critics of Virtanen are happy with his play (for the most part), yet the same can’t be said for Goldobin. 50 points is nothing to scoff at and as McDonald mentions, both players have been beneficiaries of Elias Pettersson. So why the different point of view, especially from certain media types?

The key is the second paragraph. It’s rather interesting since the way some of the media presents a particular player is identical to how general managers are treated. Mike Gillis was heavily criticized because he did not make friends with the local media. He didn’t like to interview and he was dismissive at times to them. It’s no surprise that when things turned south, people weren’t afraid to pounce on him.

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I think that is the biggest reason why Jim Benning gets so much leeway. He is one of the nicest guys out there, is willing to do interviews (despite how uncomfortable it makes him) and I’m just assuming, but he likely has a better relationship with the media. That tends to lead to slightly more positive coverage, but more importantly, more forgiveness when things don’t go right.

Now, I’m not saying everyone in the media is like this, nor every Canucks fan. We are all different and that’s what makes us unique. However, the overall perceptions about certain people on the team or in the organization presents an interesting dichotomy.

Most of us consume our news about the team through the local media. Radio, newspaper articles and the digital age has allowed fans like me to throw my voice into the mix, no matter how small. This overarching consumption helps us shape our views, whether you agree or disagree with what the person is saying. In my opinion, it’s really fascinating and something that could be honestly studied. We have short memories as sports fans and can get caught up in the moment.

At the end of it, that’s part of the fun. Things change on the fly and try as I might, I can’t always let the logical side of my brain dominant what I write or how I feel (that side certainly tries hard). Maybe I’m just rambling. But, I was one of Virtanen’s biggest critics on this site and I’ve more than warmed up to his play this season. He has yet to drop off like he usually does.

I also think Goldobin could use a little more love. He’s on pace to surpass anything done by Sven Baertschi with the advantage of being younger and aligning more with the age group of the future core. The rest of this season piques my curiosity. If we see either player swing towards getting better or worse, I’m interested to see if perception changes again, if at all.