The Vancouver Canucks are off to a surprising 8-6-0 start, and 2014 first-round pick Jake Virtanen has been key in their early success.
Virtanen scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, pacing Vancouver to a 4-2 victory. He’s now up to five goals and seven points through his first 14 games — easily on pace to surpass the career-best 10 goals and 20 points from last season.
This is what the coaches and fans had been waiting for. It’s safe to say that the player this team envisioned when they drafted him sixth overall in 2014 has finally arrived.