PENTICTON, B.C. — They tout this Young Stars tournament as a preview of the future, and if you were lucky enough to see Jake Virtanen steal the show on Connor McDavid Night here in the Okanagan, you would be fine with that.
Sure, Edmonton had eight different goal scorers in an 8-2 win over Vancouver. But anyone who has seen a few of these tournaments knows the score line is inconsequential.
The lasting impression in a rivalry that has absolutely been owned by the Canucks for the past decade is the dynamics between Virtanen, McDavid and Darnell Nurse, three teammates from Canada’s world junior team who cooked up a beauty of a game on opening night here in Penticton.
"I got hit," McDavid said post-game, asked about Virtanen’s crushing bodycheck just minutes into the game long before anyone mentioned the late goal McDavid scored. "It’s part of the game. That stuff is going to happen."
On a night when everyone came to see McDavid, it was Virtanen that you had to watch out for. As in, keep your head on a swivel.
Virtanen let it be known he was willing to kick the hornets’ nest when he belted McDavid with a hard, clean check into the boards near the hash marks in Edmonton’s zone. The hit made Virtanen a marked man, and a shift later winger Mitch Moroz did catch Virtanen with a big hit that sent Virtanen flying.
"I kind of saw him at the last second," said Virtanen, who may have been fibbing a tad. He had McDavid lined up for the hit. "I saw him and I wanted to get a good hit on him, ‘cause he’s one of my buddies. I didn’t run out of my way to hit him. The hit was there and I took it.
"I think if anyone hit him there would be guys coming after you. Any guy who would hit him would expect that."
Moroz is a former Edmonton Oil King, and Virtanen an ex-Calgary Hitmen. They’ve played a few dozen games against each other over the years, and if Moroz can hold up his end of the bargain and establish himself as a tough winger in Edmonton, that relationship will continue on inside the NHL’s Pacific Division.
Surely Virtanen will see Nurse and McDavid for years to come, and if this is any sign of the future, folks in Vancouver and Edmonton will be well served.
"Played against him for three years. We’ve had a battle for a while," Virtanen said of Moroz. "He can fight, and he was just being there for McDavid for the whole game. When I hit (McDavid) there, (Moroz) was telling me he was coming after me. I’ve had to deal with that before when I’ve hit guys on his (junior) team in Edmonton. I like doing it."
Nurse took it upon himself to challenge Virtanen as well, but the Canucks’ first-rounder didn’t respond by dropping his gloves. Instead, he landed a couple of giant hits on Nurse as well.
"I just go out and play hard and whatever happens happens," shrugged Nurse, who didn’t hold a grudge.
McDavid, meanwhile, was not slowed at all by the early demolition, not to mention the friendship that was shown when Virtanen tapped McDavid on the pants with his stick as the two skated to their respective benches after the hit.
On Virtanen’s part, he sees a need inside the Canucks organization that he is aiming to fill. Whether the Canucks see him as that kind of a banger remains to be scene. But for now, he must have made a huge impression on a skybox full of Canucks front-office men gathered here when he pounded McDavid, then responded by throwing four or five more solid checks on those Oilers who came to their star’s defence.
"Look at last year’s playoffs, a guy like (Calgary’s) Michael Ferland making big hits. That’s what they want, and I like doing that," said Virtanen of what his bosses may be looking for. Besides, he quite likes McDavid. "From world juniors and playing with each other, that battle with each other, we were teammates and we actually know each other pretty good."
The downside was that Virtanen was pointless, while all the key Oilers had a goal. McDavid closed the night with a goal and an assist, his marker bounding over the goal line after being partially blocked by a Canucks defender, while Nurse, Leon Draisaitl and an interesting new winger named Anton Slepyshev all scored for Edmonton.
The lone game this evening in Penticton pits the Calgary Flames against the Oilers, with a 7:30 p.m. PT start. McDavid is not expected to be in the Edmonton lineup.