PENTICTON -- The Vancouver Canucks want to get younger and Jake Virtanen would like to help.
There’s likely an NHL job waiting for the 19-year-old Abbotsford product if he can make an impact over the next three weeks.
He certainly got off to a nice start Friday night in the Canucks’ opener at the Young Stars Classic in Penticton.
There weren’t a lot of positives to be drawn from Vancouver’s 8-2 loss to Connor McDavid and the rest of the Edmonton Oiler prospects, but Virtanen made his mark.
His crushing side-boards hit on McDavid early in the first period set the tone for what was a highly entertaining game.