The Edmonton Oilers have released Jake Virtanen from his professional tryout, TSN&#8217;s Darren Dreger reported Thursday.

Virtanen, 26, joined the Oilers ahead of training camp this year and drew in for six preseason games. Throughout the games, Virtanen scored two assists — both in his final two games against the Vancouver Canucks. He fired six shots on net and took two penalties during his stint.
Bringing Virtanen into camp drew controversy from the Oilers&#8217; fan base and as camp went on, it was clear he was unable to make a noticeable impact in any sense of the term.
On hockey merit alone, there was nothing from Virtanen&#8217;s previous stint in the NHL or in his recent KHL stint that suggested he would be able to do much for the Oilers at all. The Oilers gave him more than enough opportunity to prove his worth, too.
While stats were unavailable for Wednesday&#8217;s neutral site preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks, Virtanen had played over 16 minutes on the powerplay through five other preseason games generating just two shots. While on the ice, Virtanen appeared to have the same issues that plagued him with the Canucks previously: a player who had no clear purpose on the ice.
There were times where Virtanen could&#8217;ve put in the extra effort to finish a body check, or get in deep on a forecheck, but this never seemed to happen.
For the Oilers, one has to wonder if the slack they took from the NHL world was worth the professional tryout.
<hr />
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
<hr />
<h2><a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">#NATIONVACATION TO LAS VEGAS</a></h2>
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<ul>
<li>When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.</li>
<li>Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉</li>
<li>What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.</li>
<li>How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy) </li>
<li>Tickets: Ready to dive in? <a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Click this link</a>.</li>
</ul>

The Edmonton Oilers have released Jake Virtanen from his professional tryout, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Thursday.



Virtanen, 26, joined the Oilers ahead of training camp this year and drew in for six preseason games. Throughout the games, Virtanen scored two assists — both in his final two games against the Vancouver Canucks. He fired six shots on net and took two penalties during his stint.

Bringing Virtanen into camp drew controversy from the Oilers' fan base and as camp went on, it was clear he was unable to make a noticeable impact in any sense of the term.

On hockey merit alone, there was nothing from Virtanen's previous stint in the NHL or in his recent KHL stint that suggested he would be able to do much for the Oilers at all. The Oilers gave him more than enough opportunity to prove his worth, too.

While stats were unavailable for Wednesday's neutral site preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks, Virtanen had played over 16 minutes on the powerplay through five other preseason games generating just two shots. While on the ice, Virtanen appeared to have the same issues that plagued him with the Canucks previously: a player who had no clear purpose on the ice.

There were times where Virtanen could've put in the extra effort to finish a body check, or get in deep on a forecheck, but this never seemed to happen.

For the Oilers, one has to wonder if the slack they took from the NHL world was worth the professional tryout.

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.

<hr />

<h2><a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">#NATIONVACATION TO LAS VEGAS</a></h2>
<a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-120226 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i1.wp.com/oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02.png?resize=803%2C803&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="803" height="803" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-loaded="1" /></a>
<ul>
 	<li>When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.</li>
 	<li>Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉</li>
 	<li>What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.</li>
 	<li>How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy) </li>
 	<li>Tickets: Ready to dive in? <a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Click this link</a>.</li>
</ul>

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