Dorsett’s surgery should open door for Virtanen ... but will it?
NEWARK, N.J. — The Canucks have never needed Jake Virtanen more.
Unfortunately, Virtanen still needs Utica. And, maybe, lots of it.
Derek Dorsett is expected to be lost to the Canucks for the season because of cervical fusion surgery he needs to repair a disc degeneration issue in his neck, something which has been a recurring problem for five or six years.
Any neck surgery is frightening, but Dorsett remained extremely positive as he travelled to Los Angeles for the procedure.
He’s expecting a full recovery, but that won’t likely be until the start of next season.
“I really, really wanted to play that Toronto game,” Dorsett said. That, of course, was just wishful thinking. “He couldn’t,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “You could see him walking around the rink. He was so uncomfortable, just walking. He came back (in his last game on Nov. 17) and it wasn’t even a hard hit on the second time he injured it. It was just a push.
“He’s played hurt a lot. I think he has one of the highest pain thresholds I’ve seen in any athlete.
“The biggest thing for him is he didn’t want to let the team down. He said, ‘I’ll play through it.’ ”
The Canucks will try to replace Dorsett on the ice with players like Jack Skille, Jayson Megna and maybe even Joseph Labate.
What they really could use is Virtanen, whose skill set — including speed and violent body checking when he’s on — comes the closest to matching Dorsett.
But the Canucks said again Monday there is no timeline for Virtanen to be recalled. There’ve been some encouraging signs with the way he’s played in Utica, but right now he’s just not considered an option.
If Virtanen needs any extra motivation in his fight to get back to the NHL, maybe he can use this. Because one thing is certain in the second half of this season: there will be a ton of opportunity in Vancouver for a player like him.