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.
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