Oilers Unearth Hidden Gem In Podkolzin

The Edmonton Oilers were perhaps the busiest team in the league this past offseason.

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From savvy free-agent acquisitions to controversial hirings to shocking offer sheets to record-breaking contract extensions, the Oilers were in the headlines all summer long. Lost in the shuffle was their acquisition of forward Vasily Podkolzin in a trade with Vancouver in August.

Picked 10th overall by Vancouver in 2019, the Russian winger was billed as a skilled power forward who could be equally as impactful with his aggressiveness and his soft hands. Unfortunately, things haven't quite gone to plan in the years since he was drafted.

Podkolzin came to Canada in 2021-22 after two years with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. At age 20, he played the entire season with Vancouver, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 76 games. Podkolzin's lack of production was just a small part of what was a chaotic year in Vancouver—this was the first year of the brief Bruce Boudreau era. Podkolzin mostly played with Elias Pettersson, and despite putting up good expected goals totals together, it was a disappointing year for both players.

Things then got worse for Podkolzin, as he spent the next two years splitting time between Vancouver and AHL Abbotsford. He never could crack the Canucks' top six as the team improved, and despite their perpetual search for the perfect Pettersson linemate, Podkolzin never got that chance again. He had all of two assists in 19 NHL games last season.

At this point, it's unlikely that Podkolzin will ever become an impact scorer in the NHL. His 28 points in 44 AHL games last season is a career-high at any level. But there's more than one way to add value to an NHL team, despite Vancouver's frustration at their top prospect's lack of production.

That's the bet the Oilers are taking with Podkolzin, and it's looking like a good one through three pre-season games. He's been very physically active, starting and winning puck battles in both zones. He's also shown good offensive instincts and a nose for the net, getting himself open and creating scoring chances for himself.

While he had some trouble finishing those chances, he picked up his first goal as an Oiler on Saturday against Seattle, which could open the floodgates. What's even better is that it came on the penalty kill.

That Podkolzin is killing penalties at all is a big development. According to head coach Kris Knoblauch, Podkolzin has no penalty killing experience. But with the offseason departures of Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod, the Oilers are in need of some new penalty killers. Podkolzin, with his strength and relentless motor, is a perfect candidate.

Those qualities also make him perfect for the team's bottom six. At the very least, his pre-season performance shows he can be a great low-event grinder, as kind of a Zach Aston-Reese-with-more-offence type of player. But I would not be surprised to see him slide up to the third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown, where he can provide a little offence on the forecheck.

With his heavy forechecking and motor, he bears a similarity to former Oiler Jesse Puljujarvi, another top draft pick who could never score enough to justify his selection. But the Oilers don't have to worry about where Podkolzin was drafted. They can just let him play.

Vasily Podkolzin is far from the most important player on the Oilers. He's not even in the top ten. But an effective bottom six is what wins games in the playoffs, and Podkolzin sure looks like the kind of player who makes up a championship bottom six. Can't you just see this guy coming up with two huge goals in an elimination game? I bet you can now.

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