Patience the plan with Virtanen
Forward could learn from Baertschi when it comes to AHL seasoning
Jim Benning was heading home from church Sunday when Jake Virtanen called. “I didn’t know whether I should take the call or not,” the Vancouver Canucks general manager said Tuesday.
Virtanen reached out in an attempt to clarify his Saturday comments to the The Hockey News, when he was asked about his reassignment to the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets and what the plan was for his return to the NHL. Here’s what he said:
“I was just doing what I was told. I wasn’t going to say much, but yeah, I didn’t play for a little bit there (against the Islanders and Rangers). Get sent down, play two games then back to Vancouver, didn’t play and then sent back.
“It’s just a business and that’s how things are going to work. I don’t know exactly what it (the plan) is and they (the Canucks) didn’t really communicate with me much.”
That either sounds like a frustrated first-round pick who believes he should be in The Show or a 20-yearold who still has a long way to go to get his game and mind in order to be a consummate professional — no matter what level he’s playing at.
Virtanen also held court in Vancouver a month ago and openly asked for more minutes because it was hard to prove his worth as a fourth-liner. Then came those Saturday quotes. “I don’t hold that against him,” said Benning. “Jake has a good heart, but he’s a young player and sometimes a little naive. I told him not to worry about it, but now when guys ask you the plan, here it is: ‘You’re there to practise and play hard a lot in games and keep improving and there’s no timeline as to when you’re going to be up.’
“Every player’s path to the NHL is different. We want to do what’s best for Jake’s development because he’s an important guy for us. He understands that and I think we’re all on the same page. We’re going to be patient with him.”
However, it still added fuel to the speculative fire that the Canucks may be getting tired of the act. They don’t want to give up on a player who has teased with his size, skating and hitting, but when the Buffalo Sabres were spotted scouting a Comets game, it created a buzz.
Are the Sabres still kicking the trade tires with the Canucks and is Virtanen — who has seven goals in 65 career NHL games — in play in a long-rumoured swap scenario for Evander Kane?
“Nope — not trading him,” stressed Benning.
Sven Baertschi knows first-hand how much first-round picks can struggle with having to temper their tongues and adapt their games.
As the 13th overall pick in the 2011 draft, he had to deal with the disappointment of a yo-yo existence with the Calgary Flames before being dealt to the Canucks.
He has played 124 games at the AHL level and 159 in the NHL and is better for everything he went through — both good and bad.
“It was tough, but I learned a lot,” he said of his AHL experience. “There’s a lot more responsibility you have to take on down there — and you have to — and Jake is getting a lot of ice time and even power-play time. That’s big for him. That’s what is going to make you a better player.
“He has to learn every single day and Travis (Green) is a great teacher and really helped me out a lot. He helped me clear my mind about being in Utica and not focusing on when I was going to get called up. Your head has to be with Utica at the time when you’re there.
“There are so many distractions for players and Jake is a really popular guy in Vancouver. He just needs to take a breather and focus on getting better. He’s an unbelievable player and has so many tools, he just needs to regain his confidence and the ability to make plays.
“There were times where I was playing in the AHL and didn’t know why, but you have to grind away.”
Trust was a factor for Baertschi in Calgary and it didn’t help that Brian Burke’s first salvo after being named president of hockey operations in 2013 was aimed at the winger on the eve of the 2013-14 season.
“I see this as a guy who’s focusing on one area (offence) and even then, sporadically,” said Burke. “So I don’t know what we have.”
What Baertschi had with the Flames was a disconnect. Whether it was not having the trust of management or being bypassed by other prospects, his days were numbered. He was dealt and his road to the NHL would only lengthen.
“It took me three years, but I was ready,” he stressed. “This feels unreal because I was more prepared for every scenario in the NHL.”