Confirmed with Link: Canucks Trade W Vasily Podkolzin to Oilers for 2025 4th (OTT)

[cc]

What are the chances that a guy who couldn't make our 4th line moves the needle for the Oilers?

For everybody lamenting us losing Podkolzin what evidence did you see for him being an impact player after the end of his rookie season? Most of the takes I'm seeing here wanting us to keep him or trade him to a different team seem to be based solely in what posters wish hecoukd be rather than anything he's shown on the ice.

I'm not saying pods will turn out and be a regular NHLer but it wasn't so long ago that broberg was considered a near bust.

If the return was better than a 4rth, I don't think you'd see as much disappointment. It looked like they just dumped a player that didn't really need to be moved at this time. Were they that desperate to free up a million dollars and a contract spot?

 

[Tables of Stats]

I'm not saying pods will turn out and be a regular NHLer but it wasn't so long ago that broberg was considered a near bust.

If the return was better than a 4rth, I don't think you'd see as much disappointment. It looked like they just dumped a player that didn't really need to be moved at this time. Were they that desperate to free up a million dollars and a contract spot?

His value, even if he showed well in training camp, was unlikely to rise to the point where we get a 3rd round pick for him but if he played badly could have dropped. The Oilers also seemingly needed to make a deal so waiting may have taken the pick we did get off the table. For what, one more chance for a coaching staff who has seen Podz for years to see that he has zero hockey IQ?

I don't see the upside of holding on to him for another few months and trading him when better players are being placed on waivers.

 

[Wisp]

I'm not saying pods will turn out and be a regular NHLer but it wasn't so long ago that broberg was considered a near bust.

If the return was better than a 4rth, I don't think you'd see as much disappointment. It looked like they just dumped a player that didn't really need to be moved at this time. Were they that desperate to free up a million dollars and a contract spot?

Broberg was more productive than Podkolzin was in the AHL and he was a defensemen.

should put into perspective had meh Pod has been.

 

[cc]

His value, even if he showed well in training camp, was unlikely to rise to the point where we get a 3rd round pick for him but if he played badly could have dropped. The Oilers also seemingly needed to make a deal so waiting may have taken the pick we did get off the table. For what, one more chance for a coaching staff who has seen Podz for years to see that he has zero hockey IQ?

I don't see the upside of holding on to him for another few months and trading him when better players are being placed on waivers.

From most reports I've seen, it sounds like the issue with pods is more mental than physical which were the criticisms levied against broberg before the playoffs

Things do have the ability to turn things around for a player. It's not as if he had never shown flashes of being a capable NHLer in the past. I think the move was premature.

If one can see upside in the player, I think there is upside in holding on to him awhile longer. However, if the canucks much lauded coaching staff believes there is nothing more they can do with the player, I'd say then move him for what you can get. It's not as if a 4rth rounder moves the needle

 

[VanillaCoke]

Only wish he got traded literally anywhere else so we could cheer for him lmao

Anyone still invested in pod for some reason can continue to cheer him on with ska Saint Petersburg reasonably soon

 

[cc]

Broberg is more productive than Podkolzin in the AHL as a defensemen.

It can be argued that pods was rushed into the NHLer far too early and should have started out in the ahl but still managed to produce at a decent clip in his first NHL year. He ran into some injuries that seemed to derail him but this only shows how development is not linear.

 

[TruGr1t]

It can be argued that pods was rushed into the NHLer far too early and should have started out in the ahl but still managed to produce at a decent clip in his first NHL year. He ran into some injuries that seemed to derail him but this only shows how development is not linear.

His development has been pretty linear over the past two years, and it's been in the wrong direction. He has 9 points in his last 58 NHL games. Sure, he had one decent stretch during the "Boudreau bump" when the Canucks pretty much did not play any coherent system, but he's otherwise been uniformly underwhelming at the NHL level. Maybe if he works on his defensive game and can start to work some on the PK, he can carve out some sort of career for himself. Offensively he looks like a lost cause, though.

 

[Wisp]

It can be argued that pods was rushed into the NHLer far too early and should have started out in the ahl but still managed to produce at a decent clip in his first NHL year. He ran into some injuries that seemed to derail him but this only shows how development is not linear.

it can be argued but the fact remains he did not develop and is not getting those important development years back. in anycase, comparing him to Broberg was a bad example. I don't even like Broberg as a prospect/player, but he has shown himself to be a better prospect than Podkolzin over a large sample.

 

[cc]

His development has been pretty linear over the past two years, and it's been in the wrong direction. He has 9 points in his last 58 NHL games. Sure, he had one decent stretch during the "Boudreau bump" when the Canucks pretty much did not play any coherent system, but he's otherwise been uniformly underwhelming at the NHL level. Maybe if he works on his defensive game and can start to work some on the PK, he can carve out some sort of career for himself. Offensively he looks like a lost cause, though.

Sure he was unlikely to turn into a top six player but being a capable bottom six player was definitely in his wheelhouse

it can be argued but the fact remains he did not develop and is not getting those important development years back. in anycase, comparing him to Broberg was a bad example. I don't even like Broberg as a prospect/player, but he has shown himself to be a better prospect than Podkolzin over a large sample.

Like I said, I think there is value in waiting for camp to see what they had. Why sign him to a 2 year contract if they felt like there was nothing there?

I only brought up broberg because he was an example of perceptions of a player that can change drastically in little time

 

[DFAC]

So many posters here still clinging to some hope that VP will develop into some useful top 6 winger.

The sad truth is that he has never showed any sort of offensive potential and got passed on the depth chart by guys like PDG, Aman and Bains. He's not even a good bottom 6er at this point and I'm not sure he ever will be tbh.

 

[pitseleh]

His development has been pretty linear over the past two years, and it's been in the wrong direction. He has 9 points in his last 58 NHL games. Sure, he had one decent stretch during the "Boudreau bump" when the Canucks pretty much did not play any coherent system, but he's otherwise been uniformly underwhelming at the NHL level. Maybe if he works on his defensive game and can start to work some on the PK, he can carve out some sort of career for himself. Offensively he looks like a lost cause, though.

His AHL production this past season was pretty miserable too. And he got a decent bump from the PP, which he will not get in the NHL - strip out his PP production and he only scored at 0.45 PPG clip. Guys like Bains, Karlsson, and Sasson were up at 0.65-0.7.

 

[Wisp]

Like I said, I think there is value in waiting for camp to see what they had. Why sign him to a 2 year contract if they felt like there was nothing there?

1. they know what they have with the player, another camp isn't going to make much difference. They had to know losing him on waivers was the most likely scenario here.
2. their re-signing of him is asset management. It returned a 4th round pick. Letting him walk is no pick. Losing him on waivers is no pick.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

He's always been somewhat overrated on this board. I get it, when a young guy we drafted gets a shot, you're rooting for him to show. He made the squad during his rookie season largely because the team had a real lack of depth up front. As the PA regime came in and constructed a better bottom-6, his stock rapidly fell. I haven;t seen anything from him that suggests he has what it takes to stay in the league. From all reports, at best he was a middling player in Abbotsford, and I'm guessing they knew he didn't have a snowball's chance of making it this year.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

So many posters here still clinging to some hope that VP will develop into some useful top 6 winger.

The sad truth is that he has never showed any sort of offensive potential and got passed on the depth chart by guys like PDG, Aman and Bains. He's not even a good bottom 6er at this point and I'm not sure he ever will be tbh.

I was always rooting for him to be a Hansen-like player. Hansen simply couldn't finish when he had the puck on his stick but would still be in prime areas to score. Podkolzin lacked any offensive IQ and was always a step behind in the offensive zone. Someone mentioned the Puljujarvi comparison and it's spot on.

Final 2 months of the season were pretty brutal and he had a memorably bad game against Winnipeg. His 2 game stint against Edmonton in the playoffs was pretty unspectacular as well.

Being stapled next to McDavid and Draisaitl doesn't correlate to success either. Puljujarvi and Yamamoto had shifts with them and barely did f*** all. They have Hyman, Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique and Savoie who are probably better options.

 

[cc]

1. they know what they have with the player, another camp isn't going to make much difference. They had to know losing him on waivers was the most likely scenario here.
2. their re-signing of him is asset management. It returned a 4th round pick. Letting him walk is no pick. Losing him on waivers is no pick.

They could have easily signed him to a one year "show me" deal instead of a 2. Writing him off before camp immediately after signing him to a 2 year feels premature.

 

[TruGr1t]

I was always rooting for him to be a Hansen-like player. Hansen simply couldn't finish when he had the puck on his stick but would still be in prime areas to score. Podkolzin lacked any offensive IQ and was always a step behind in the offensive zone. Someone mentioned the Puljujarvi comparison and it's spot on.

Final 2 months of the season were pretty brutal and he had a memorably bad game against Winnipeg which saw him lose any hope of seeing playoff action. His 2 game stint against Edmonton in the playoffs was pretty unspectacular as well.

Main difference is the skating and mobility. Podkolzin won't be a forechecker like Hansen, he can't move like him. Largely he always looks a step behind the play, and hasn't had his defensive game develop enough to become a reliable bottom sixer. He can be physical when he can actually get to the point of contact, but usually he's late.

 

[God]

His AHL production this past season was pretty miserable too. And he got a decent bump from the PP, which he will not get in the NHL - strip out his PP production and he only scored at 0.45 PPG clip. Guys like Bains, Karlsson, and Sasson were up at 0.65-0.7.

Yeah when you're being outproduced by a similar age player in Bains and a younger Raty, it's not a good sign. Sasson is ~10 months older than Pods but produced more as well.

 

[ziploc]

Seems like a good kid. But when you are in competition with PDG and Aman - and they both bring more to the table currently - and Raty and Bains - and they both show more potential - things aren't going great.

Here's hoping St Louis signs him to a big offer sheet.

 

[RobertKron]

They could have easily signed him to a one year "show me" deal instead of a 2. Writing him off before camp immediately after signing him to a 2 year feels premature.

A 2 buryable deal is probably considered better than a 1 year deal WRT trade value, imo.

Also, it seems pretty clear that they signed him to that deal and then a combination of him not continuing to impress and other options they liked more coming available happened.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I liked Podkolzin but I can't say I'm remotely surprised. He's been struggling to crack the roster for a good while now and hasn't looked great even in the short stints we've given him. Not to say he was bad per se but didn't really accomplish anything.

He's good enough there was practically zero chance we could sneak him through waivers without a team like San Jose, Chicago or Montreal taking a flyer on him. Hell, the Habs have pretty much made reclamation projects their MO. There's no shot he gets by them.

So we might as well get a pick out of him.

 

[RobertKron]

I was always rooting for him to be a Hansen-like player. Hansen simply couldn't finish when he had the puck on his stick but would still be in prime areas to score. Podkolzin lacked any offensive IQ and was always a step behind in the offensive zone. Someone mentioned the Puljujarvi comparison and it's spot on.

Final 2 months of the season were pretty brutal and he had a memorably bad game against Winnipeg. His 2 game stint against Edmonton in the playoffs was pretty unspectacular as well.

Being stapled next to McDavid and Draisaitl doesn't correlate to success either. Puljujarvi and Yamamoto had shifts with them and barely did f*** all. They have Hyman, Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique and Savoie who are probably better options.

I don’t know that it’s necessarily his feet that were the issue. He often seemed to have this extra half beat between recognizing the next thing to do and doing it.

 

[Wisp]

They could have easily signed him to a one year "show me" deal instead of a 2. Writing him off before camp immediately after signing him to a 2 year feels premature.

you're basically walking him to Russian UFA if you sign him to a 1 year. I don't know why you're hung up on this, this transaction proves he has value with 2 years and that's a 4th round pick. I would guess teams are even more shy acquiring him if they thought their gamble would be rewarded with a flight risk and having to negotiate against KHL offers.

it goes back to if you don't sign him, the more likelihood you lose him for nothing.

 

[Wisp]

I was always rooting for him to be a Hansen-like player.

Hansen had 43 points in 50 games in the AHL as a 21 year old. 0.86 ppg vs. Pod's AHL best of 0.63.

I love this game! I'm not trying to pick on folks, just pointing out players who even play depth rolls in the NHL tend to show very well when they're in the AHL.

 

[VanJack]

I suppose you have to give the current Canucks braintrust the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Podkolzin. Obviously if they thought there was even a remote chance he'd work out, there's no way they'd have unloaded him for a fourth round draft pick, and to a division rival no less.

These are the kinds of deals involving young guys that can often blow up in the faces of NHL teams that give up on prospects too early. But if the Canucks believed there was no way he could have made the opening night roster, then they'd have been forced to put him on waivers to get him to Abbotsford. And as a former top-10 draft pick, there's no way he'd have cleared.

So you have to put it down to just another draft flop by the previous regime. Wish Podz well in Edmonton. But sadly, since they're already a stacked team looking to get back to the Cup final, there's also a chance he ends up waivers there as well. So his stay may not be long.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Hansen had 43 points in 50 games in the AHL as a 21 year old. 0.86 ppg vs. Pod's AHL best of 0.63.

I love this game! I'm not trying to pick on folks, just pointing out players who even play depth rolls in the NHL tend to show very well when they're in the AHL.

Wisp. We get it. The offense was never there.

We are talking about the ability to defend, backcheck, play PK, be a pest and throw some hits. He showed some of this when I watched him at the 2020 WJC. He showed promise in his own zone back in Russia.

We all knew he was a limp dick in the offensive zone from the onset. No one pegged him to be a top 6 guy. I wanted a pain in the ass bottom 6er.