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

[krutovsdonut]

Was looking at Kravtsov as a comparison. In his draft year he was under 10 mins TOI 4 of his first 5 games, and 14 games total over the year. This is just looking at the numbers without context mind you. He hovered between 11-15 mins by mid-September. However in the playoffs he played a lot and never went below 10 mins.

D+1 season he dipped below 10 mins once but other then that was a regular player.

So yeah some definite red flags

the russians are not basing their development on nhl draft year. kravtsov is a 1999 and pod is a 2001 birthday. kravtsov had played 35 khl games the season before he was drafted and 3 games the season before that. pod is coming off 3 khl games last year in his first khl season. if he dressed for more than 35 games this year he is ahead of kravtsov.

 

[racerjoe]

and even if he wanted to buy it out, he can't afford to do that unless he is sure he will be playing on the nhl squad.

i think we need to relax and be patient. there is some benefit to him dressing and seeing the game from the bench. and if he was in the ncaa, there'd be less games and his total minutes over the season might well be less than what he will get in the khl. that doesn't seem to hurt ncaa prospects.

I can't comment too much on KHL development paths, I really don't know. I am just going to try and stay positive and not jump to too many conclusions until we get a larger sample size to look at. Also hoping people who know more can jump in.

 

[Ryp37]

the russians are not basing their development on nhl draft year. kravtsov is a 1999 and pod is a 2001 birthday. kravtsov had played 35 khl games the season before he was drafted and 3 games the season before that. pod is coming off 3 khl games last year in his first khl season. if he dressed for more than 35 games this year he is ahead of kravtsov.

He played 35 games in his draft year, which is exactly what he said

 

[krutovsdonut]

He played 35 games in his draft year, which is exactly what he said

well "he" is actually "you" so you might want to be more careful to keep the multiple log in accounts straight.

and i don't understand your post. i am pointing out there are no red flags if the russians follow year of birth. although these two guys were drafted a year apart they are actually 19 months apart in age and two full calendar years apart in birth date. thus, kravtsov's pre-pre-draft season matches pod's pre-draft season.

 

[Bleach Clean]

From what I have heard it is a stacked team with veteran talent, depending on the coach (we seen this with willie) it might not be on the player and its pretty hard to make an impact with that ice time. Thats not an excuse for him, but he should be sent down to the vhl and work his way up with more ice time. Its clearly just not a fit or situation where he will get top minutes at the moment.

VHL, I agree.

We have very little to go by so far. What little we've see from his shifts, he seems to drive possession on his line. Also has a knack for creating turnovers and when he has possession, the play doesn't die on his stick. So at least relative to his linemates, he appears to be an effective option.

But so early on in the season, it could be that the roster is in flux as the coach auditions each of his options. That could explain the limited time just as well as KHL aversion to playing young players. I guess we'll see when/if he's sent down to the VHL or stays up.

Future VHL play should clear up things nicely. Either he's dominant, or there's a real offensive issue here. That may be why he dropped in the draft.

I agree, it's early though. Let's not, however, dismiss the possibility that it may be the offensive execution of the player and not just a coach with peculiar tendencies/a grudge.

 

[M2Beezy]

My understanding is that KHL lineups are 20 players, however teams can add an extra 2 junior players to that lineup for a total of 22. That's done to encourage KHL teams to dress young players.

So what you get as a result is players like Podkolzin dressed as a 13th forward to play an odd shift and fill in in case of injuries. SKA won't demote him to the VHL, as they would lose that extra player they can dress.

From the KHL Sports Regulations.



About the KHL : Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)

Man what a garbage backwords league, Canucks HAVE to get him out of that hole, like right NOW this is a mess of another wasted year if he turns out to Juolevi on us

 

[CherryToke]

Man what a garbage backwords league, Canucks HAVE to get him out of that hole, like right NOW this is a mess of another wasted year if he turns out to Juolevi on us

Or maybe he can just work hard and earn some ice time. it's the KHL, there are plenty of scrubs to take ice time from.. if he cant do it, he sucks.

 

[Ryp37]

well "he" is actually "you" so you might want to be more careful to keep the multiple log in accounts straight.

and i don't understand your post. i am pointing out there are no red flags if the russians follow year of birth. although these two guys were drafted a year apart they are actually 19 months apart in age and two full calendar years apart in birth date. thus, kravtsov's pre-pre-draft season matches pod's pre-draft season.

Wish I had enough time for multiple accounts

I don't see how 1 minute isn't a red flag but alright

 

[F A N]

He played 35 games in his draft year, which is exactly what he said

well "he" is actually "you" so you might want to be more careful to keep the multiple log in accounts straight.

I agree with krutovsdonut. It's not really about draft year but age and physical readiness, which is not unlike other leagues.

 

[Ryp37]

I agree with krutovsdonut. It's not really about draft year but age and physical readiness, which is not unlike other leagues.

They're the same height but Pods listed as heavier

Edit: actually their height and weight is listed differently every where I check lol

 

[VanJack]

Podkolzin is an 18-year old rookie trying to earn ice-time on a stacked KHL team competing against men who are 10-years older and have been playing professional hockey for five or six years. Unfortunately it's going to be a struggle for him, but just the reality of the situation.

Of course that won't stop some posters from comparing his stats to others in his age cohort playing in their respective junior teams or in the NCAA. They'll wrack up the points and people will be lamenting another 'missed' draft.

Obviously the only way you're going to know what the Canucks really have is when he shows up for his first NHL training camp. Just my optimistic prediction. But he won't play a game in Utica, and will probably step right into a Canuck lineup that figures to even better than the one they're icing this season. You really can't expect much more from a 10th overall pick.

 

[F A N]

They're the same height but Pods listed as heavier

Edit: actually their height and weight is listed differently every where I check lol

Kravstov measured at almost 6'3" but 184 lbs at the combine so Pods is shorter but heavier and stockier. But Kravtsov turned 19 in the December after the draft. Pods turned 18 this past June. The age gap between the two is about 1 1/2 years.

 

[ChilliBilly]

I am pretty sure Podkolzin will never play a game in the AHL same as with Tryamkin it’s not worth his while financially to ever play in the AHL he will have an out to go to the KHL if they try to send them down

 

[F A N]

I am pretty sure Podkolzin will never play a game in the AHL same as with Tryamkin it’s not worth his while financially to ever play in the AHL he will have an out to go to the KHL if they try to send them down

Their situations are a little bit different. Tryamkin came here at an older age and the Canucks tried to send him down more for conditioning than overall development. Tryamkin obviously didn't feel he didn't belong at the NHL level. Podkolzin will likely come here when he is 20 and if he struggles at the NHL level he may be convinced to go down to the AHL to get more minutes before being recalled. Of course if the plan is for Podkolzin to spend most of the year in the AHL he'll probably leave for Russia. If it's a matter of getting some games down there before being called up it's a different story.

 

[ottawa]

I'm sure you guys are following this



Sucks for him but this is just common practice in the KHL, it's a seniority league until he earns his coaches trust. Our (habs fan) pospect Aleksander Romanov is on the same team but hovering around 13 mins, we're hoping he keeps it up. I'm scared that one brutal mistake might make his ice time dip drastically, they need to be more forgiving when it comes to prospects but it is what it is. Romanov and especially Podkolzin will need to earn their ice time.

It sucks for Podkolzin because he's signed for 2 years, I bet CSKA will give him more ice time next year in hopes to get him to re-sign (and hopefully opts for the AHL instead)

 

[Oliewud]

I'm sure you guys are following this



Sucks for him but this is just common practice in the KHL, it's a seniority league until he earns his coaches trust. Our (habs fan) pospect Aleksander Romanov is on the same team but hovering around 13 mins, we're hoping he keeps it up. I'm scared that one brutal mistake might make his ice time dip drastically, they need to be more forgiving when it comes to prospects but it is what it is. Romanov and especially Podkolzin will need to earn their ice time.

It sucks for Podkolzin because he's signed for 2 years, I bet CSKA will give him more ice time next year in hopes to get him to re-sign (and hopefully opts for the AHL instead)

wtf kinda development is that??

 

[timw33]

wtf kinda development is that??

What incentive does this championship calibre KHL team have for developing an 18 year old player who is extremely likely to leave in 2 seasons, and is full of players with 5+ years of professional experience already? It's going to be slow going gaining more ice time for him, and it sucks, but that's the crummy reality about having players develop in Russia (along with no transfer agreement).

 

[Oliewud]

What incentive does this championship calibre KHL team have for developing an 18 year old player who is extremely likely to leave in 2 seasons, and is full of players with 5+ years of professional experience already? It's going to be slow going gaining more ice time for him, and it sucks, but that's the crummy reality about having players develop in Russia (along with no transfer agreement).

not disagreeing but could he be bought out of his contract and sent to ahl?

 

[ottawa]

not disagreeing but could he be bought out of his contract and sent to ahl?

Not by the Canucks, no. Podkolzin would have to buy out his own contract, I forget the exact value but I believe the amount is in the neighbourhood of 2/3 of the existing contract.

And in case you or anyone else asks...could the Canucks give him the money to buy himself out? Illegally, sure...they'd be in a lot of trouble if they got caught though. The NHL and the KHL do not have a transfer agreement like the NHL does with other European leagues, where the NHL can pay a fee to have their players released from their European contract.

 

[timw33]

not disagreeing but could he be bought out of his contract and sent to ahl?

The buyouts must be done by the players themselves, so that could be a few hundred thousand dollars (not sure of his KHL contract value).

By signing an ELC with the Canucks he'd get a $92,500 SB and that's all the immediate compensation he could use to pay down the cost of his buyout. Then if he was assigned to the AHL he'd only be making $70,000 annually. Or if he was playing on the NHL roster, where we have zero room/flexibility for him he'd be making around $900k base salary (with probably about 1MM in ELC performance bonuses, but would have to look at other 10th overall pick contract structures). All to say, with his signing bonus and a likely AHL salary, he's better off just staying in the KHL financially unless he was going straight to the NHL roster and had a plum bonus package.

 

[Lindgren]

Two shifts and 1:08 of ice time today for Pod.

The issue of the buyout came up back in the early summer, as I recall, and I think that either Tryamkin's agent or Podkolzin's pointed out that 18 months notice needed to be given. It's not going to happen.

 

[wetcoast]

What incentive does this championship calibre KHL team have for developing an 18 year old player who is extremely likely to leave in 2 seasons, and is full of players with 5+ years of professional experience already? It's going to be slow going gaining more ice time for him, and it sucks, but that's the crummy reality about having players develop in Russia (along with no transfer agreement).

Why did the team sign him then?

Severe pack of ice team in any players D+1 year isn't helpful.

 

[lush]

I wonder when this thread will talk about something other than his ice time
I guess it will just be in mid December when he joins the Juniors

For now it seems iPods D+1 season will fall somewhere in between Elias Petterssons and Patrick White's

 

[FroshaugFan2]

Why did the team sign him then?

Severe pack of ice team in any players D+1 year isn't helpful.

Because Podkolzin is the top 01 born Russian. Why wouldn't SKA want to hold his rights?

 

[Killer Orcas]

Why would Pods sign there knowing he wasn't gonna get ice time is my question? I mean if this is the norm there what was he thinking?