“With our first selection, we select from the WHL Calgary Hitmen, Jake Virtanen.”
-General manager Jim Benning
Those were the words that echoed throughout the ears of Vancouver Canuck fans, cheering that the team had found the toughness they were looking for, after missing the playoffs for the first time in six years.
The expectations of Jake Virtanen have been in flux since he arrived, making the team in his first-year pro, to being demoted just one season later. He has had a rocky road with the team thus far, and regardless of how long it takes power forwards to develop, he has not justified going sixth overall in 2014.