While there is much concern from the outside about the

health of Jake Virtanen’s shoulder these days, the bigger issue seems like a crisis

of confidence for the second year Vancouver Canuck power forward. Virtanen has

yet to leave a mark on any of the five games he’s played this season and

following an optional practice the morning after a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa

Senators, Virtanen admitted he’s struggling to find the form that made him

effective in the second half of his rookie season.

He says

his head more than his shoulder his holding him back right now.

“Thinking back on it, last year a

couple of my goals I had speed coming through the neutral zone,” Virtanen says.

“Right now, it’s ‘should I go or should I not go?’ The NHL is a really structured

game so you don’t want to be caught in the wrong spot. You’re always concerned

because the margin for error is so small if you make a mistake it can be in the

back of your net really quick. I want to have the confidence to go and play and

do what I used to do.”

The Canucks would certainly

welcome that because so far Virtanen has had trouble finding either his

offensive stride or the ability to be a physical force. On Tuesday, the

20-year-old Abbotsford native saw the ice for just 8:26 including three shifts

over the final 10 minutes of the game – and one of those came after the Sens

sealed the victory into an empty net.

On the season, Virtanen has yet

to register a point and has an even-strength Corsi For of 46.9% despite a

deployment that has seen him on the ice for 56.9% of face-offs in the offensive

zone. Virtanen admits that his limited role in the early going and a constant

shuffle of linemates hasn’t allowed him to contribute the way he’d like or knows

he’s capable of.

“I think the last couple of games

have been okay, but I haven’t really been there,” he says.” The lines have been

changed pretty much every day so you’re not sure who you’re playing with. If

you’re in the line-up, you like being able to get chemistry with your teammates

and your linemates especially. And with Bo and Baertsch, we do have chemistry

but when we’re switched around a lot it’s kind of hard to get that line going

all the time. I have to play my game each and every night, but it’s hard to

keep it going.”

The Canucks need the sixth

overall pick in the 2014 draft to develop into a player they can rely on. Right

now, though, that’s clearly not where Virtanen finds himself.

“I have to earn that, but I want

to go out there in the games and be an every shift kind of guy,” he says. “Last

night, I was only out there for about seven minutes. I wanted to make the most

of it. But with five to seven minutes of ice, it’s pretty hard to get stuff

going when you’re sitting for so long and you’re sitting on the bench and after

10 or 11 minutes you get back out there. That’s just part of the game. Willie

wanted to win last night and he was playing the guys who he thought could win

the game.”

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Canucks head coach Willie

Desjardins insists he hasn’t in any way soured on Virtanen. He points to the

player who channelled his frustration over being singled out as one of the

reasons Canada failed to reach the podium at the World Junior championship a

year ago and returned to the NHL hungry and motivated. Desjardins remembers well

how Virtanen used his size and speed effectively and didn’t seem overwhelmed or

adversely affected by NHL matchups.

Desjardins is well aware what

Virtanen means to the future of the franchise, but as a coach he needs the

player to earn his opportunities. And so far this season, Virtanen hasn’t done

that.

“Jake is a player, with his

talent and ability, he needs to be a top nine forward for sure and probably a

top six,” Desjardins says. “He has the ability to do that. We have to get him

to that spot where he can do it. We have to get him back to that point again where

he’s hungry and motivated. I thought the first game against Calgary he had a

couple of pretty good chances and since then it hasn’t been quite as good. When he gets himself to the point in his game

where he’s structurally sound, he can be that player. He’s good enough to do

that. But right now he’s not at that point. He’s working to get there though.

It not like he’s not trying to work and get through it.”

With

injuries to Alex Burrows and Derek Dorsett and word now that Anton Rodin is on

a 4-6 week recovery program, Virtanen shouldn’t have to worry about constant

rumblings about his need to spend time in the American Hockey League. For the foreseeable

future, it appears Virtanen will be a part of the Canucks forward group and it’s

up to him to find a way to contribute and earn more ice time.

He

knows he has more to give and both he and the Canucks hope to see it soon.

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“I still feel like if I’m getting

out there and playing a regular shift, I’ll be able to do that,” Virtanen says.

“That’s my game. In junior, I was relied on to score and coming here was obviously

a little bit of a change because I’m not that guy right now. I want to be able

to go out there and help produce and be productive when I get the opportunity.”

While there may still be some

tenderness in the shoulder Virtanen injured on opening night in the preseason,

his biggest injury issue right now is a headache. That comes with the territory

when you’re a young player overthinking and over processing the situation

rather than simply getting out on the ice and playing on instinct.





