page_title: Jake Virtanen
section_title: Junior
hierarchical_section_title: Jake Virtanen / Playing career / Junior
caption_attribution_description: Jake Virtanen, Canadian ice hockey winger
context_page_description: Jacob "Jake" Virtanen is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. Nicknamed "Shotgun Jake" by Canucks fans, Virtanen was drafted by the Canucks sixth overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
  Virtanen played junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League and has represented Canada five times in international competition at the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2013 U-18 Junior World Cup, 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2015 IIHF World U20 Championships and 2016 IIHF World U20 Championships.
context_section_description: The Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Calgary Hitmen selected Virtanen with the first overall pick at the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. He appeared in nine games for the Hitmen during the 2011–12 season and was a regular for Calgary in 2012–13. Virtanen scored 16 goals and 34 points in 62 games and began to establish himself as a highly ranked prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
  Returning to Calgary for his second full junior season, Virtanen nearly tripled his goal scoring total from the previous season and finished with 45 on the year. He added 26 assists to finish with 71 points. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Virtanen as the ninth-best North American skater for the 2014 Draft at its midseason ranking and he played in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
  Virtanen moved up three spots in NHL Central Scouting's year-end ranking and entered the Draft ranked sixth among North American skaters. The Hockey News projected Virtanen to be a "pure goal scorer" in the NHL and ranked him 11th overall in its draft preview. The magazine praised both his physical ability and the quality shot, but added that he is not known as a playmaker and that his "hockey sense" required development. He had shoulder surgery in May 2014 that was expected to sideline him until December 2014.
caption: Virtanen at the 2014 CHL Top Prospects Game.
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