Comets inject Canuck prospects on Round 2 playoff roster
The Utica Comets are off to the second round of the American Hockey League playoffs and Vancouver Canucks prospects Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann are joining them.
The two 18-year-olds, both first-round picks of the Canucks last summer, are heading to Utica, N.Y., today.
Virtanen, the Abbotsford native whose WHL season ended on Friday when his Calgary Hitmen were eliminated in five games by the Brandon Wheat Kings, can’t wait to get his first taste of pro hockey.
“Obviously, it will be my first pro experience and I am looking forward to it,” Virtanen, who was selected sixth overall last summer, said Sunday. “I know it’s not the NHL, but it’s pretty close.
“You get to see how much bigger and stronger the guys are and how much faster the game is and how much quicker the puck moves. I’m really super excited to head out there to see what it’s all about. Hopefully, I can get into a couple of games or something.”
Virtanen missed three games of the Brandon series while serving a suspension for his hit on Wheat Kings forward Tanner Kaspick. He had five goals and 13 points in 14 playoff games with the Hitmen after registering 21 goals and 52 points in 50 regular-season games. His season started late following shoulder surgery last May.
“Personally, it was kind of an up-and-down season,” Virtanen said. “I had some really good weeks and ones that weren’t so good. I think overall it was a good season for me. I worked on some details that the Canucks have wanted me to, some defensive zone things and playing big minutes and being a leader on the team.”
McCann, selected 24th overall last summer, has had a terrific season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. McCann had 34 goals and 81 points in 56 regular-season games and added six goals and 16 points in 14 playoff games before the Greyhounds were knocked out of the playoffs Saturday by Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters.
“They have both got one more year of junior left, but I want them learning and getting the experience of being around the playoffs,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Sunday.
Virtanen and McCann will join a Comets team that beat the Chicago Wolves 4-2 Saturday in the fifth and deciding game of their first-round series. How much Virtanen and McCann play — or if they play — will be determined by Utica coach Travis Green.
“We want those guys to practise with the team,” Benning said. “I am leaving it up to the coaches down there whether they are going to get in and play. That will be up to them.”
The Comets will face the Oklahoma City Barons in a bestof-seven Western Conference semifinal that starts Thursday in Utica.
It was Brendan Gaunce, another Canuck prospect, who helped the Comets advance. Gaunce, who had been a healthy scratch in Games 3 and 4 of the series, scored two goals in Utica’s 4-2 home-ice win on Saturday.
“I talked to some guys after the game last night and he had a good game,” Benning said of Gaunce, who was picked 26th overall in the first round of the 2012 draft by the Canucks. “It is a good experience for those kids playing in big games. They needed to win that game to advance, so there’s lots of pressure to perform and play well.” ICE CHIPS: Nicklas Jensen, a first-round pick (29th overall) in 2011 by the Canucks, was a healthy scratch on Saturday ... Benning will head to Utica later this week.