About Jake Virtanen
Jacob Virtanen (born August 17, 1996) is a Finnish-Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for HK Dukla Michalovce of the Slovak Extraliga. Virtanen was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks sixth overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft and played for the NHL team from 2015 to 2021. Virtanen played junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and has represented Canada five times in international competition at the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2013 U-18 Junior World Cup, 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2015 IIHF World U20 Championships and 2016 IIHF World U20 Championships. == Early life == Virtanen was born August 17, 1996, in New Westminster, British Columbia, and spent his first 12 years living in Langley, British Columbia, before settling in nearby Abbotsford. Growing up, Virtanen attended Fraser Middle School Hockey Academy where he played rugby through grade 7 and 8. In eighth grade, he helped the team win the Fraser Valley 7s and the full-on league for Grade 8 15-a-side teams. He caught the attention of his physical education teacher who, after convincing him to continue playing rugby seriously, personally trained him on the rules of the sport. Virtanen's middle school fed directly into the W.A. Fraser Skills academy, which he also attended along with Yale Hockey Academy. While attending Yale Secondary School which worked with the hockey Academy, Virtanen was praised for his wrist shot from the executive director Billy Wilms. He said in an interview that "Jake stood out as a kid who you just knew was going to be a pro, in grade 9...His wrist shot was harder than my slap shot when we did skill testing...Jake steps up and fires an 81 with a snapper, and he was only in grade 9." His father, Rainer, immigrated from Finland and his mother is French Canadian.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.