The 2016-17 season didn&#8217;t go quite the way 2014 sixth-overall pick Jake Virtanen had hoped.
The power forward found himself skating out in just 10 NHL games, despite putting up a 55-game sample size the year prior. His AHL performance wasn&#8217;t much to write home about, either; the winger was good for just nine goals and 19 points in 65 regular season games, struggling even to score at the rate that he had in his first season of NHL play.
Despite that, it seems that this was the summer of turnaround for the forward &#8211; so he, along with fellow forward Brock Boeser, have punched their tickets to the show for opening night this year.
It was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that both Boeser and Virtanen will skate out with the Canucks this year as the regular season gets under way, making it onto the 23-man final roster after an up-and-down preseason.
It wasn&#8217;t an easy set of weeks for Virtanen, who was left behind when the Canucks brought their A-team to China for a set of exhibition preseason games in a clear attempt to make him prove himself.
Despite a sub-optimal lineup for the first handful of games, though, he would walk away from preseason action with four goals and two assists, sitting top-five on his respective preseason rosters for possession metrics nearly every night. It&#8217;s nearly impossible that he could have had a better showing.
It was like night and day compared to his numbers from last season, suggesting that his return to the NHL could be well-warranted at this point.
Boeser, on the other hand, is a little bit less surprising &#8211; he&#8217;s been excellent from the moment he inked his pro deal and left the NCAA behind &#8211; but with the Canucks, anything is possible.
The duo will skate out for the crowds Saturday night, opening the season at home against the Edmonton Oilers.

The 2016-17 season didn't go quite the way 2014 sixth-overall pick Jake Virtanen had hoped.

The power forward found himself skating out in just 10 NHL games, despite putting up a 55-game sample size the year prior. His AHL performance wasn't much to write home about, either; the winger was good for just nine goals and 19 points in 65 regular season games, struggling even to score at the rate that he had in his first season of NHL play.

Despite that, it seems that this was the summer of turnaround for the forward - so he, along with fellow forward Brock Boeser, have punched their tickets to the show for opening night this year.

It was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that both Boeser and Virtanen will skate out with the Canucks this year as the regular season gets under way, making it onto the 23-man final roster after an up-and-down preseason.

It wasn't an easy set of weeks for Virtanen, who was left behind when the Canucks brought their A-team to China for a set of exhibition preseason games in a clear attempt to make him prove himself.

Despite a sub-optimal lineup for the first handful of games, though, he would walk away from preseason action with four goals and two assists, sitting top-five on his respective preseason rosters for possession metrics nearly every night. It's nearly impossible that he could have had a better showing.

It was like night and day compared to his numbers from last season, suggesting that his return to the NHL could be well-warranted at this point.

Boeser, on the other hand, is a little bit less surprising - he's been excellent from the moment he inked his pro deal and left the NCAA behind - but with the Canucks, anything is possible.

The duo will skate out for the crowds Saturday night, opening the season at home against the Edmonton Oilers.

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