The Vancouver Canucks made two important decisions regarding rookie forward Jake Virtanen and his future. First, they sent him on an AHL conditioning stint to get back into action and regain his confidence. Then, they decided to loan him to Team Canada for the 2016 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Again, the club is hoping that Virtanen can come back as a better player with improved confidence. But was that even necessary?
Before suffering an upper-body injury from a cross-check by Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, Virtanen was a permanent member of Bo Horvat’s third line.