Vancouver Canucks: Is Jake Virtanen bringing power or finesse?

Look at me go! Another story about Jake Virtanen. Brian Burke was on the radio talking about the Vancouver Canucks forward and the difficulties in putting him in a particular box. Maybe he should be thinking outside of the box.

For better or worse, Brian Burke sure provides a lot of content for the Vancouver Canucks. He represents hockey men far and wide and Sportsnet is making it clear that they are possibly grooming him to replace Don Cherry when the time comes. I know people don’t think about that, but it only makes sense.

Burke is not just good for sound bites, he ticks off the things in the tiny box for Canadian sports coverage. One thing about it is its predictability, which makes sense since older people in hockey fit that mold, carrying the culture.

So, what’s the latest thing Burke had to say? He talked about Jake Virtanen this morning, basically saying how Jake is still figuring out where he fits in all this. Virtanen has a few incredible talents, but there is an issue of identification of his role.

So, there is a lot to unpack here. I know we were taught long ago that there are hard divisions in your forward group. To grossly oversimplify, your offensive players live in the top six and your gritty, defensive forwards occupy the bottom six.

However, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Scoring depth is more important than ever, in a game that is trying to suck out all of the offence through suffocating defensive systems. Your top six has evolved into a top nine. Those top three lines need to score and if we’re being honest here, all lines need to be defensively responsible in some fashion. That job is not just left for the bottom of the lineup players anymore.

But since Burke is still thinking of lineups through the traditional lens, Jake doesn’t seem to fit his arbitrary boxes. It looks Burke is saying that Jake can’t really be a top six forward because we don’t know if he’s a power forward or a finesse player. To that, I say, why does that matter? Both types of players exist in the top six. However, it is fair to say that Jake shows elements of each type of player, but does not identify with one over the other.

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And that’s okay. Given the current list of available wingers on this team, Virtanen should be a top six forward.  But if we are looking towards the long term, I can’t help but think of Zack Kassian. While he was here, the coaches, the fans and every coach that had him wanted him to play like a power forward. Kassian felt different. He wanted to be more of a skill guy, but the offence wasn’t happening. Since he didn’t fit that expected mould, he was often scratched while dealing with his personal issues.

It’s not a perfect comparison, since Virtanen isn’t quarreling with the coaches or facing a substance abuse problem. However, fans expect him to become a power forward. Why? Because the guy who drafted him said he would be.

The thing is, Jake isn’t always a power forward. He is physical, probably one of the most physical guys on the team. I know I’m not alone when I’m yelling at the TV when Jake skates around the net instead of driving forward. The finesse label is interesting. Why? Because of his incredible shot? His passing is better, but it’s nothing too special. Seems like a lazy label from Hockey Men when a player isn’t playing the rough and tough game that they only want to see.

I can understand the confusion in classifying where Jake should be, but maybe that’s the issue at hand. We like little boxes since it makes things easier to organize. But forward lines are fluid. I’m not talking about the changes during a game or over a season. This is something that changes year-to-year. Remember last season when Brock Boeser was supposed to be permanently glued to Bo Horvat? He still might later on, but Boeser is at his best with Elias Pettersson.

So, I think we have to look at Jake with some flexibility. If he becomes a utility middle six forward, that’s not a bad thing, especially if he can maintain more of the good than the bad. His skating is fantastic and is easily the fastest on the Canucks, possibly in this league. Yeah, I said it. I would love to see him go head-to-head with Connor McDavid in a straight line race. All I’m saying is we shouldn’t try to put players like Virtanen in little boxes. How about we start thinking outside of it?