Canadian
winger Jake Virtanen, 28, has signed a one-year contract with Dukla
Michalovce, the Slovak Extraliga club announced on Wednesday.
Virtanen,
who played in the NHL for the Vancouver
Canucks from 2015 to 2021, spent
last season playing for the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters, where he
recorded 19 points in 46 games.
Born
in the Vancouver suburb of New Westerminster, BC, Virtanen played
junior hockey for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.
Picked
sixth overall by hometown Vancouver in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft,
Virtanen’s career never met its expectations. He recorded exactly
100 points in 317 NHL games spread over six seasons before his
contract was bought out by the Canucks in May 2021 after allegations
of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. He
was cleared of all charges in 2022.
Since
then, Virtanen has played in Russia with Spartak Moscow, in
Switzerland with EHC Visp and in Germany with the Fischtown Pinguins
and Iserlohn.
Dutch Winger Leaves NHL, Signs In KHLDutch-Canadian
winger Daniel Sprong, 28, has signed a one-year contract with CSKA
Moscow, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.
Internationally,
Virtanen represented Canada at one IIHF U-18 World Championships and
at two World Junior Championships, winning a gold medal at the 2015
World Juniors.
During
his time in Vancouver, Virtanen became somewhat infamous for the
“Shotgun Jake” campaign. Whenever Virtanen scored a goal, fans
would post a picture or video of themselves on social media
“shotgunning” a beer – puncturing the side of the can and
quickly drinking its contents – using the hashtag #ShotgunJake.
Since
being promoted to the top Slovak league in 2019, Michalovce has
finished second in the regular season twice and made the semifinals
three times. Last season, the team finished ninth and lost in the
play-in round before the quarterfinals.
Photo © Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images.
Interview: Filip Chytil 100% Healthy ‘Knock On Wood’; Canucks Have ‘Great Potential For The Future’Last
season was an eventful one for Filip Chytil that saw him get traded
for the first time in his NHL career, but it ended prematurely due to
a concussion on March 15. Back
home in Czechia for the summer, his
summer training is in full swing.
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