VANCOUVER — He’s a big boy, with a big future and a big grin and, evidently, a big suit of fire-repellant armour.
Does Jake Virtanen feel the searing heat of a nation’s disappointment — which, as these things often go, was largely directed at the most convenient target — over the Canadian junior team’s sixth-place finish at the IIHF world under-20 championships?
Sure he does. He’d love to undo those penalties against the Finns.
Does the Vancouver tabloid that published the size-XL “Goat-medal winner” headline under Virtanen’s photo on its back-page sports cover Sunday wish it could have a do-over, considering the 19-year-old power forward is not only one of the Vancouver Canucks’ top prospects, but a kid from nearby Abbotsford?