Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the club has loaned forward Jake Virtanen to Team Canada for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Virtanen, 19, has played in two games for the Comets on a conditioning assignment and in 19 games with the Canucks in his rookie season, recording four points (1-3-4) and 15 penalty minutes. He is also currently fourth among NHL rookies in hits with 53. Virtanen made his NHL debut on October 13th at Los Angeles and notched his first career NHL point with an assist on October 27th vs Montreal. He registered his first career NHL goal on November 2nd vs Philadelphia.

The Abbotsford, B.C. native has represented Canada in several international tournaments. Most recently, Virtanen captured gold at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship where he posted four points (1-3-4) along with a plus-four rating, helping Team Canada to a 7-0 record in the tournament. He also won gold with Canada at the 2013 Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and bronze at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship in Finland, tying for the team lead with six points (3-3-6) in seven games. Virtanen served as a member of Team Pacific at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, registering seven points (5-2-7) in five games.

The 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Helsinki, Finland and takes place from December 26th to January 5th.