Prospect Info: 10th overall: Vancouver selects Vasili Podkolzin (RW, SKA St. Petersburg)

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Read through a few of the other teams draft day threads on HF ...seems like Pod was on a lot of other fanbases wish lists (probably more so than here)..and was considered an excellent selection at #10 by the majority (nobody wanted Broberg..lol).

 

[WonderTwinsUnite]

Cause it’s hard to quantify would be my guess. How would you approach it? Avoid all Russians, all the time? Knock their value down X%?

Honestly, the only way to beat the Russian Factor and become one of the few markets that Russian is to take a swing on a guy like Podkolzin who should not only be a high-end NHLer, but also a national team star.

If he comes over, it becomes immensely easier to draw in more Russians down the line, and suddenly we have access to a market that few do. It's either you commit full-heartedly to bringing in Russians, or avoid them entirely. There's no middle ground.

If Podkolzin and Tryamkin are here within the next couple of years, that's a good start.

 

[Svencouver]

Why do people act like the Russian factor isn’t a very real thing

It's real, but how many first round Russians haven't come over when eligible?

 

[Knight53]

Just reading the Podkolzin thread on prospects board some of his plays

 

[CanaFan]

Going from memory, only Yakupov, Filatov, and Grigorenko ran back to the KHL after they essentially busted at the NHL level. Nichushkin similar. Tarasenko and Kuznetzov came over and found success and haven’t had any issues. Radulov is the only one that pops to mind that has bounced back and forth while being a productive NHLer. Maybe there’s more, this is just the high picks that I can easily recall.

 

[Knight53]

Does anyone know what his minutes will look like next year in the KHL? Will he play top 6?

 

[krutovsdonut]

i guess i will need to find my old pod is god tshirt from the 80s.

 

[Dr Good Vibes]

I like Pod as a prospect and don't dislike the pick at all given Zegras was gone at 10. But it does give me pause with the various reports questioning his creativity and his overemphasizing of straight-line play. Sounds like a Virtanen but with a better motor. Am I way off base here?

Pod is also way way better than Virtanen defensively. This guy dives head first in front of slap shots lol.

 

[Nomobo]

just thinking 2 years down the line, with the KHL season ending in mid-April, will Vasily be able to join us for our Stanley Cup run in 2021? or do KHL contracts end in the summer?

Let’s see if Tryamkin can join us for a Cup run at the end of this season, that will tell.

 

[CanaFan]

Pod is also way way better than Virtanen defensively. This guy dives head first in front of slap shots lol.

That does sound like a bit of a low IQ tbh ...

 

[DollarAndADream]

I really don't see this kid staying in the KHL unless he just doesn't pan out in the NHL. But I think in 2 years time, Podkolzin will have ample opportunity to make it here. He'd likely get some swing with Pettersson, or someone else and I think he'll be similar to Tarasenko with how he comes to the NHL.

The kid seemed really happy to be a Vancouver pick as well, and happy to be drafted to the NHL.

 

[The Drop]

Read through a few of the other teams draft day threads on HF ...seems like Pod was on a lot of other fanbases wish lists (probably more so than here)..and was considered an excellent selection at #10 by the majority (nobody wanted Broberg..lol).

The crowd cheered when the Oilers drafted him and Holland was so confused.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Why Sportsnet showed Pod chasing a guy around the ice and head butting him as a highlight is beyond me..I guess they were trying to illustrate the 'menace' side of his play....NBC's coverage was much better with Button,McK,McGuire.

 

[Nomobo]

Why Sportsnet showed Pod chasing a guy around the ice and head butting him as a highlight is beyond me..I guess they were trying to illustrate the 'menace' side of his play....NBC's coverage was much better with Button,McK,McGuire.

Can’t wait to see him head butt Marchand.

 

[Hit the post]

Can’t wait to see him head butt Marchand.

Nothing to hurt up there or "down there" (eg., where Prust tried to change his religion).

 

[Nomobo]

Nothing to hurt up there or "down there" (eg., where Prust tried to change his religion).

Yeah, that was a beauty.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I like this pick alot, happy we got him instead of Zegras.

 

[MS]

He’s more skilled and higher-IQ than a Virtanen. But he isn’t going to be an 80+ point guy either.

Projects as a strong-skating two-way power forward with a very NA-style game. 25-30 goals, 50-60 points. Again, guys like Evander Kane and Erik Cole are compatibles.

If he was the exact same player but from Sweden, I would quite like the pick. But I really, really don’t like drafting Russians.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I like this pick alot, happy we got him instead of Zegras.

Interesting. Can you expand?
Zegras seemed really high on a lot of lists I looked at.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Interesting. Can you expand?
Zegras seemed really high on a lot of lists I looked at.

Just not as high on Zegras I suppose. Very flashy, skilled & great hands, but kind of a style vs substance thing for me.

Zegras will get his assists & be good on the PP. He's be a good playmaking T6F. But I don't see him as a 1st line center/driver or whatever sky high projection some might have. Just seems to play a perimeter/outside playmaking game IMO, atleast compared to Podkolzin anyways. Not a great goal scorer either.

I think Podkolzin just brings alot more to the table. His strength & fearlessness going into the hard areas is unmatched in this draft, he's very strong defensively, he adds a power element I think you need to win against tough opponents. And he's got the skill to go along with it too.

In the playoffs, give me Podkolzin over Zegras.

 

[Quinning]

The only Russian player that defected back after excelling in the NHL is Radulov, and even he eventually came back over. You could argue Kovalchuk as well.

The rest come over and it doesn’t work out, or they never come over. This is the best league in the world.

 

[The Drop]

Here’s the NBC coverage of the draft. Much much better. An American feed spent more time on us than the Sportsnet feed and gave me way more info about the guy we got.

Canucks pick starts at 1:20:25.

 

[Nabrules]

The only way you can compare Virtanen to Podkolzin is calling Virtanen a poor mans Podkolzin. Besides skating, Pod is betting a literally everything else. (Even skating, pod probably has better agility)

 

[Cquant]

Does anyone know what his minutes will look like next year in the KHL? Will he play top 6?

Playing for SKA.. I wouldn't be surprised if he either spent a large portion of his season in the VHL, or if he does play for the big club then on a 3rd/4th line getting roughly 8 minutes a game. He won't be given the same opportunities as a guy like Kravtsov.

On the other hand, Datysuk just left, and if Gusev leaves, there might be a spot for a high profile scorer. But the team is just so deep, it won't be easy for Podz to get ice time. He's competing against guys like Yakupov, Plotnikov, Barabanov and Prohorkin. And they have a couple of fan favorites in the bottom six like Tikhonov.

Best case scenario, he works himself onto the second line. But I also wouldn't expect high points. If he plays roughly 50 games, I'd say 15-20 points is already a really good.

 

[Jyrki21]

I know very little about him, but I know some people had him as a top-5 player in the draft who would fall only due to his KHL contract situation, so that's reassuring. I heard so much less about him than the remaining "next tier" players available at the time (Caufield, Boldy, Newhook, Krebs, Soderström) that it felt a bit like going off the board, but I gather that's not truly the case, and I also assume this was Brackett's direction and I'll place some faith in that.

That said, when the highlight Sportsnet chose to go with was him headbutting a guy... not gonna lie, I had very quick flashback to Alek Stojanov and the "He fought Lindros in junior!!!!" rationale.