Canadian Canuck
Hughes4Calder
His production has a ton to do with ice time, and playing against men. When playing against players his age, or getting even remotely sufficient ice time, he’s produced,
Prospect Info: 10th overall: Vancouver selects Vasili Podkolzin (RW, SKA St. Petersburg)
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mriswith
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- Oct 12, 2011
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Russian Bo Horvat. I don't see him as a boom or bust, I think he's a very safe bet to make the show, the question is ceiling. Next season will tell us a lot.
I was on the "anyone but pod" train heading into the draft but only because I don't trust our management team to develop Russian players. I like the player and the skillset and if he can play in the top 6 it will be a big deal for our team composition.
I'm curious who was driving this pick. Rumour was that the scouting staff wanted Soderstrom and Benning wanted Broberg. Based on the reactions at the table it seemed like they really badly wanted Zegras. Didn't seem to be any rumours around Pod but they still took him over Soderstrom and Boldy/Newhook.
I was on the "anyone but pod" train heading into the draft but only because I don't trust our management team to develop Russian players. I like the player and the skillset and if he can play in the top 6 it will be a big deal for our team composition.
I'm curious who was driving this pick. Rumour was that the scouting staff wanted Soderstrom and Benning wanted Broberg. Based on the reactions at the table it seemed like they really badly wanted Zegras. Didn't seem to be any rumours around Pod but they still took him over Soderstrom and Boldy/Newhook.
D0ctorCool
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I feel like we missed an opportunity to trade picks with Detroit or Edmonton to draft Zegras, but Podkolzin + retaining our 2nd rounder is not a bad consolation prize. I'd sleep a lot better knowing that Judd Brackett put his seal of approval on this pick, but to be honest, he doesn't seem to fit the mold of player that Brackett has been drafting.
Podkolzin doesn't come off as a cerebral player, but we have players on the team who can do the thinking for him. I'm happy with his projected floor which essentially reads as 'Jake Virtanen with heart.' He seems like the kind of person who is willing to do anything to win, even if it means adapting your role as a player which Virtanen has always been unwilling to do. That alone has me optimistic.
God only knows what his ceiling is. I don't think anyone can speak to that with any certainty. Podkolzin's been bounced around so much that he practically has played more hockey at the Hlinka than he has in any other league. Scouts usually tell you not to base your evaluations around short form tournaments, but his season has essentially been comprised of a series of short form tournaments.
At the end of the day I like the pick. If nothing else, he's going to be one of the most interesting players to follow in his D+1 season.
Podkolzin doesn't come off as a cerebral player, but we have players on the team who can do the thinking for him. I'm happy with his projected floor which essentially reads as 'Jake Virtanen with heart.' He seems like the kind of person who is willing to do anything to win, even if it means adapting your role as a player which Virtanen has always been unwilling to do. That alone has me optimistic.
God only knows what his ceiling is. I don't think anyone can speak to that with any certainty. Podkolzin's been bounced around so much that he practically has played more hockey at the Hlinka than he has in any other league. Scouts usually tell you not to base your evaluations around short form tournaments, but his season has essentially been comprised of a series of short form tournaments.
At the end of the day I like the pick. If nothing else, he's going to be one of the most interesting players to follow in his D+1 season.
VanillaCoke
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- Oct 30, 2013
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Podkolzin was drafted to lure Panarin
dKs89
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- Oct 22, 2016
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I don't understand why there is questions about his production. In the last several years, how many top rated prospects, and Pod was #3 for several different lists for the majority of this past season, played for 3 different teams in their draft eligible year? I'm go ahead and say not many if any at all.
Seriously think about the implications of this. You have upwards of 6 different linemates, 3 different coaches, 3 different systems the team is running, 3 different roles you're asked to fulfill. For a developed adult it would be a struggle dealing with this, let alone a 17 year old kid.
It happens all the time even in the NHL when a player get traded, or moved at the deadline how it can take awhile to get up to speed (see Karlsson in SJ.) When you're playing with 3 different teams it's going to be hard to settle in and be comfortable and play your best hockey.
Obviously you want to see better production, but in my opinion it's easy to see why it wasn't quite there this past season, with the reasons aforementioned and others listed in different posts. I would expect him to be able to produce more next season.
This is, in my opinion, the top 10 of the first round in terms of the quality of player. So that we got him at #10 is pretty great. Say what you will but it really looks like the Canucks did it again, for the 3rd year in a row: falling in the draft standings from where they should have been (either because of the way the lottery balls went or because of our annoying habit of winning meaningless games at the end of a season), but still managing somehow to get a player who should have been drafted earlier on. We haven't been a great drafting team in a very long time now, but that's something noteworthy.
1. Jack Hughes, 5'10, C
2. Kaapo Kakko, 6'2, RW
3. Bowen Byram, 6'1, D
4. Kirby Dach, 6'4, C
5. Trevor Zegras, 6', C
6. Vasily Podkolzin, 6'1, RW
7. Alex Turcotte, 5'11, C
8. Dylan Cozens, 6'3, C
9. Phillip Broberg, 6'3, D
10. Matthew Boldy, 6'2, LW
1. Jack Hughes, 5'10, C
2. Kaapo Kakko, 6'2, RW
3. Bowen Byram, 6'1, D
4. Kirby Dach, 6'4, C
5. Trevor Zegras, 6', C
6. Vasily Podkolzin, 6'1, RW
7. Alex Turcotte, 5'11, C
8. Dylan Cozens, 6'3, C
9. Phillip Broberg, 6'3, D
10. Matthew Boldy, 6'2, LW
Mittelstadt Played for two teams, and posted over point per game in one and two points per game in the other.
I can understand not producing in the KHL, but he should be lighting it up in lower levels. It is not a good sign he isn’t. What I don’t like about the pick is I don’t see the high end potential. I see solid middle six guy. These are the Russians who tend to go back home too. The stars will stay, but middle six can earn the same money at home.
But more importantly I think higher end guys were still on the board. Boldy caulfield Newhook, mainly. Also while I would not have taken Soderstrom at 10, I would take him over Podkolzin. Honestly hope I am wrong here, but I do feel he is a pick in the opposite direction we have been picking.
Great pick! He’s a lot like Brady Tkachuk and Timo Meier! Gonna be a stud
ProstheticConscience
Check dein Limit
Hansen
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Watching more footage of him and reading more reports, I share the feeling that he has a kind of inefficient stride. He might be able to generate more speed working out the kinks
- Feb 24, 2017
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I really wanted Zegras, but didn’t realistically think he would fall as far as Vancouver. Him almost doing so was agonizing to watch cause I just knew it wouldn’t last. Oh well. I am happy with Podkolzin.
Bleach Clean
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- Aug 9, 2006
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It's a tough one because Podkolzin wasn't on the radar. Would you classify his stick handling and zone entries as those of a lesser skilled player? I'm not sure I would.
For me, the production is the worry. He 'looks' skilled. He looks like he has a motor and that he can deke 1 on 1. He did not produce like a future potential 1st liner though. It's the opposite of Cozens, who produced very well, but did not apparently look to be as skilled while doing so.
Polarizing pick. I think I'm trying to rationalize it. Caught me off guard.
- Feb 24, 2017
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Newhook and Boldy I would have been disappointed with, with Podkolzin on the board. Caulfield I would have been ok with.
sandwichbird2023
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Why? They are set in net for a decade with Hart. I'm pretty high on York, and I like how Philly rebuilt their D, its looking pretty good for both the short and long term now.
Arizona on the other hand...I can't say its a good trade. There is going to be a very good player available at 45 I think.
Pastor Of Muppetz
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- Oct 1, 2017
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Apparently, the Canucks could have had their eye on Moritz Seider as well ...
"It’s an intriguing statement, as it suggests they weren’t quite as high on some of the players that went shortly after they selected Podkolzin, including the versatile Matthew Boldy, pint-sized goalscorer Cole Caufield, speedy Alex Newhook, and the hardworking Peyton Krebs.
According to the Canucks’ Russian scout, Sergei Chibisov, Podkolzin was ranked “eight or nine” on the Canucks’ list. That means one or two players picked in the top ten were below Podkolzin on the Canucks’ rankings.
To speculate, that likely means Moritz Seider, who the Detroit Red Wings reached to take sixth overall, and possibly Philip Broberg, who the Edmonton Oilers selected eighth."..Vancouver Courier
The whole Russian thing should have been put to bed when us fans saw his parents flew in from Russia. That and the fact he was here all week doing videos etc. I am friggen stoked.
Seriously, I don't get the concerns about production at all. Pod was a 17 year old forward playing men's leagues last season. There isn't a single professional level hockey coach that's going to give a 17 year old any significant ice time, let alone place them in productive scoring situations.
I'm really curious about Seider, for a guy who was projected to go in the mid to late 1st round, there have been a lot of teams that have been talking about snatching him up much earlier, enough so that Yzerman felt he had to take him at 6.
He's going to be an interesting player to watch for sure.
Russian kids are extremely competitive, they want to play in the NHL not the KHL. Getting pretty annoyed with the so called Russian factor BS. Almost every player that goes to the K is old or didn't pan out in the NHL.
thefeebster
Registered User
We are dealing with the Russian factor as we speak. We've been burned by the Russian factor in the past as well (Koltsov). It isn't something ppl made up. For the last 19/20 years, Vancouver has not had much luck with keeping Russian players.
A NA kid rarely if ever decides i'm going to leave my contract/family and play in the KHL because there is no draw to them. But a Russian kid sees it as home, where they have family, a place to speak their native language and a place to make money that is taxed significantly less than Canada (Hell that's enticing even to me in their shoes). We've seen several high profile players leave the NHL for the KHL, even when they panned out in the NHL.
A NA kid rarely if ever decides i'm going to leave my contract/family and play in the KHL because there is no draw to them. But a Russian kid sees it as home, where they have family, a place to speak their native language and a place to make money that is taxed significantly less than Canada (Hell that's enticing even to me in their shoes). We've seen several high profile players leave the NHL for the KHL, even when they panned out in the NHL.
What highly ranked player wouldn't fly their immediate family to the draft? Its a vacation and a chance to see their son get drafted. I flew to Beijing once, doesn't mean i want to live there full time.
Addison Rae
Registered User
I think I like this pick.
It reminds me of the opposite of 2014 where a lot of us wanted Ivan Barbashev at 24 but Benning took McCann and when asked about it made a snide comment about Barbashev lacking meat and potatoes, even though Barbashev was one of the most competitive and physical players in the draft.
I think Jim Benning has gotten a bit brighter and more progressive in front of our eyes, I think this has a lot to do with the scouting staff but I remember the good old “European skill, North American heart” and “meat and potatoes” crap he was on about in his first few drafts. I think Judd Bracket is one of the best things to ever happen to this organization.
I don’t think Podkolzin has extremely high upside, but I see a ~50 point good two-way winger that can drive the play and that’s something this team could absolutely use going forward.
All in all good day, no catastrophic trade, solid bold pick.
It reminds me of the opposite of 2014 where a lot of us wanted Ivan Barbashev at 24 but Benning took McCann and when asked about it made a snide comment about Barbashev lacking meat and potatoes, even though Barbashev was one of the most competitive and physical players in the draft.
I think Jim Benning has gotten a bit brighter and more progressive in front of our eyes, I think this has a lot to do with the scouting staff but I remember the good old “European skill, North American heart” and “meat and potatoes” crap he was on about in his first few drafts. I think Judd Bracket is one of the best things to ever happen to this organization.
I don’t think Podkolzin has extremely high upside, but I see a ~50 point good two-way winger that can drive the play and that’s something this team could absolutely use going forward.
All in all good day, no catastrophic trade, solid bold pick.
More I read about this kid, more I think he has a shot at becoming a Rick Nash-from-the-NYR-days type of player, which is a very exciting prospect to me.
Bleach Clean
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- Aug 9, 2006
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Feebs, still think Podkolzin is a top5 talent? Outside of the Russian factor of course.
I see the talent in this kid. I don’t think his earlier ranking was primarily based upon his complete game, though it helped. The skill level is there.
He's a unique talent. Star level skill with a mean violent side to him as well.
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