It's not the type of comment a young player struggling to find his fit on a team wants to hear from his head coach. When asked about the preseason play of 23-year-old Jake Virtanen during the preseason, Vancouver head coach Travis Green said "he's just kind of been there."
Virtanen was a sixth overall pick in the 2014 entry draft by the Canucks. While it seemed he had all the potential in the world, he's struggled to find his offensive touch over the last couple of years. In 2018-2019, he put up 15 goals and 25 points, career highs in both categories, but still not what is expected by the Canucks from someone the team selected so high in the draft.
"It's more than goals and assists with him," said Green. "He has to have a dog on a bone mentality. We want him to be a big part of this team, he has to be on top of his game to do that."
Chris Johnston, of Sportsnet, recently commented that he expects Virtanen to be traded at some point for another player who "could use a change of scenery." However, he added he's not expecting that to happen in the next week or so. In the meantime, the Canucks will continue to see if they can find a proper fit for him in the hopes that his play improves.
In 210 career games, Virtanen has 32 goals and 59 points.
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