Being the youngest player on a National Hockey League team is like being the youngest child in a family of 23.
Not only have you got your dad/coach to answer to, but most of your older siblings also feel empowered to tell you how to play, practise, train, rest, travel, talk, dress, eat, socialize and think.
It’s easy to get sick of all this unending and often uninvited advice, and you could tell Sunday that it is starting to wear on 19-year-old Vancouver Canuck rookie Jake Virtanen.
The key to self-improvement for any young player, like any young person, is to be aware enough to know what you don’t know and sift through the mountain of advice to identity the priceless nuggets that will allow you to grow and build a career.