Learning the hard way
PROSPECTS CAMP: Canucks’ Virtanen pays the price after taking drill a little too casually
Jake Virtanen learned another valuable lesson this week at the Canucks prospects development camp.
It’s been a very enlightening couple of months for Virtanen, who joined Utica (N.Y.) of the American Hockey League in May after his junior season was over and played his first pro game shortly thereafter as the Comets went all the way to the AHL final.
On Monday at the prospects camp here on Vancouver Island, the Canucks first-round pick (sixth overall last year) took a battle drill a little too casually and found himself stapled into the boards by free-agent defenceman Matthew Caito, who was just showing the brass in attendance that he’s hungry for a job.
Virtanen, 18, a big and mobile winger who’s expected to compete seriously for a spot with the Canucks at training camp in September, was a bit chagrined about it but was told to stay off the ice on Tuesday as a precautionary measure.
“I wasn’t expecting someone to absolutely blow me up, but it’s camp, it’s part of the game,” said Virtanen, who took a nick out of his chin on the hit and left the practice after being shaken up.
“Some guys need to make impressions here, I’m sure he does. It’s a battle drill and that’s part of the game, so good on him.”
Virtanen said he feels fine, but given it’s a summer camp with as much emphasis off the ice as on, taking extra care is clearly a wise measure.
“I feel great. I think I could have been out there today,” he said. “The coaching staff and the medical guys just wanted to keep it safe, just take it slow. There’s lots of time until main camp.”
And, for Virtanen, a packed to-do list between now and mid-September.
Although the AHL final was over three weeks ago, Virtanen is already set to begin a workout plan with Canucks strength and conditioning coach Roger Takahashi five days a week at Rogers Arena. He’ll be learning how the other half lives, commuting in from his home in Abbotsford Monday through Friday. There’ll be a short break in mid-August as Virtanen attends Canada’s national junior team camp.
The general plan is to increase Virtanen’s strength and reduce his percentage of body fat. He arrived at Utica in May with 215 pounds on his big, 6-foot-1 frame, but the Canucks would like to see him at around 205 at training camp.
Virtanen is nearly there as far as the weight goes — thanks to a monster bout of the flu that sidelined him during the AHL final series against Manchester after the first two games. The Comets could have used his size and physicality against a bigger opponent, losing the championship in five games.
“I was pretty sick,” said Virtanen. “I lost 15 pounds in four days. I was down to about 200 pounds. I got my weight back up. I’m at 208 now. But it was tough to watch the guys battling. I wanted to be out there.”
The 10 playoff games that Virtanen played in Utica can only help his chances with the Canucks.
“It’s great experience for me at the pro level,” he said. “The intensity and obviously playoffs is even more so. The leaders on the team, (veteran centre) Cal O’Reilly and the coaches, just said play my game and go out and hit guys. Carter Bancks got hurt and I just tried to fill that role.”
Virtanen is hoping to accomplish the same thing that Bo Horvat did last season — make the NHL club as a 19-year-old. Both have a robust body type, but Horvat’s ace in the hole was a long-standing attention to his own zone.
Virtanen watched Horvat’s rookie season closely and he’d like to apply that template to himself.
“Yeah, I’ve paid quite a lot of attention to Bo, because he was in the same situation as I’ll be in this year,” said Virtanen. “He’s winning draws and killing penalties and as the season went on he moved up and when playoffs came around he’s scoring the first goal and being a big part of the team. That’s what I want to be.”
Of course, Virtanen’s game — and what got him drafted so high — is about his big shot, his speed and his physical game. He plans to bring that to training camp, but knows he needs to add a defensive element to have success.
“Defence leads to offence, so we’re going to have to really focus on that this summer, he said. “If you do it in practice, it’ll happen in a game. Just focusing on the little details. Going over video. That’ll be huge to work on in the summer.
“It’s an honour to get this opportunity. I’m going to take full advantage of it and definitely try to be on this team next year.”