Abbotsford’s Jake Virtanen scored a goal in a losing cause during the Subway Summit Series, which pits Russian junior hockey players against players from each of the three Canadian major junior hockey leagues.
Virtanen, a first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, got his team of Western Hockey League players on the board in Monday’s game, which Russia won 3-2 in a shootout. The Russians won the following night by the same score in regulation time, despite being heavily outshot.
Team Russia moved on to play teams from the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Virtanen will now return to the Calgary Hitmen, for whom he has two goals and nine points in nine games so far this season.
The Subway Super Series may not be the last time Virtanen pulls on a red and white jersey this year.
Experts have predicted that the 18-year-old will likely make Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championships, which will take place in Toronto and Montreal beginning in late December.