Confirmed with Link: [EDM/VAN] Oilers acquire Vasily Podkolzin for OTT 4th '25

[Old Boys Club]

Perry is not going to be effective on the fourth line. He’s slow and (based on playoffs) kind of lazy. I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to see him start in Bakersfield. Hopefully some players show up to camp motivated to take his job.

I'd put Ryan in Bakersfield as well, he's not a starter anymore.

 

[FlameChampion]

Perry is not going to be effective on the fourth line. He’s slow and (based on playoffs) kind of lazy. I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to see him start in Bakersfield. Hopefully some players show up to camp motivated to take his job.

I liked him in the regular season, but he had a dreadful playoffs. I am sure he’s great in the room but I wish the team went a different direction with him.

I'd put Ryan in Bakersfield as well, he's not a starter anymore.

This is kind of my issue with both Perry/Ryan. I don’t mind one of them as a rotating 13F but I don’t want both on the roster. If the team is good with sending them to Bakersfield then I don’t care. But I hope young guys like Jarventie, Lavoie, Podkolzin etc actually get a shot and aren’t blocked.

 

[Morpheus]

I was surprised the Flambés didn’t get Podz back in one of the trades they made with the Nux last season.
Thanks Nux!

 

[VainGretzky]

I'd put Ryan in Bakersfield as well, he's not a starter anymore.

Please for the love of god do this Oilers he is useless 95% of the time

 

[Jumptheshark]

Nuck fans like the kids. Interesting move but he is a tweener

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

The way I look at this is that Podkolzin has top 6 potential while Holloway was never going to play top 6 here.

Podkolzin talent is middling and he almost no scoring touch around the net, he needs to show a lot more to be anything more than a 4th liner on a good team.

I got no problem with this trade cause a 4th rd pick isn't much and I like his work ethic, he definitely has the toolset to be a quality bottom 6 player if the coaches get through to him, but till I see otherwise I look at him as a less intelligent Janmark with a higher work rate, his ceiling despite his draft position is not anywhere close to Holloway.

I know the norm on the board is downplay the player leaving and up play the player who is coming, if this is our Holloway replacement we are downgrading substantially.

 

[Fourier]

I like it even if it may not work out. These are the buy-low kind of moves for young players we should be looking more into since we're likely going to be trading picks at trade deadlines and Holloway and Broberg has priced themselves out (most likely).

Should have taken a flyer on Adam Boqvist too, we didn't know then that Broberg would sign an offer sheet unfortunately.

Yah, I would have like to see them sign Boqvist.

 

[M Ace]

Weird trade for Vancouver now that I look at it from their side.
You have a dirt cheap young forward signed 2 years with a bit of upside and trade him for a weak return while sort of helping out your rival out of a bind by giving them an option to let Holloway walk with a bit of a buffer and clear some cap space as a result. Maybe they didn't think he'd make the roster and were worried about losing him to waivers but still a weird trade.

Maybe other GM's dislike Blues approach with offer-sheets and therefor is helping Oilers. Keep in mind they have a gentlemen's agreement of don't doing OS....

 

[M Ace]

I liked him in the regular season, but he had a dreadful playoffs. I am sure he’s great in the room but I wish the team went a different direction with him.



This is kind of my issue with both Perry/Ryan. I don’t mind one of them as a rotating 13F but I don’t want both on the roster. If the team is good with sending them to Bakersfield then I don’t care. But I hope young guys like Jarventie, Lavoie, Podkolzin etc actually get a shot and aren’t blocked.

Knowing Oilers coaching staff they be on the fourthline playing 5 min/night. While McDrai plays 25-30 minutes.....

 

[Defsta]

Maybe other GM's dislike Blues approach with offer-sheets and therefor is helping Oilers. Keep in mind they have a gentlemen's agreement of don't doing OS....

There's no gentlemen's agreement about OS's...

 

[M Ace]

There's no gentlemen's agreement about OS's...

Yes it is and because of that offersheets are very rare. But sometimes a GM goes gung-ho....

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Yes it is and because of that offersheets are very rare. But sometimes a GM goes gung-ho....

You do whatever it takes to help your team win. If that pisses off another GM then tough shit.

 

[smokersarejokers]

I don't think there is a gentleman's agreement on not giving offer sheets, but I think there's a gentleman's agreement on warning the other team first.

Lawton's hit with Stauffer on Friday was really good. When he was with Tampa, really wanted Andrej Meszaros and called Bryan Murray in Ottawa almost daily saying he's gonna offer sheet him. Eventually they worked out a trade.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I prefer harsh truths to kind lies and realistic expectations over wishful thinking.

Like I can't fathom someone watching a decent chunk of both Holloway and Podkolzin play and coming away with the conclusion that Podkolzin is the superior offensive talent.

Knowing how this board is, the kinder thing is trying to reel in expectations if this fanbase is expecting a 40-50 pt player out of him, that's in all likelihood entirely out to lunch and when he falls way short the fanbase might turn on him. If you have expectations like he'll play 60-ish games and get 15-ish points, work his ass off, be heavy on the puck, hit, and possibly PK that's far more reasonable and attainable.

 

[Messrules11]

Welcome aboard Vasily.

 

[Canovin]

Buffalo, Vancouver, San Jose, Ottawa down. Still a lot more farm teams left for the Oilers to pick

 

[OiledUp]

One wonders what happened between his pretty solid first year and the last two years. I know Vancouver fans have mentioned that the coaches started demanding more defensive attention and he started to falter. But that can't be the whole story going from 14 goals and 26 pts in 79 games his rookie year to not doing much at all in the AHL two years later can it?

 

[Broberg Speed]

I wish the Oilers had better hockey reporters/analysts who could provide quality opinions breaking down players' games. Hell, I wish the Oilers had better scouts. Professional and amateur.

For me it's very simple evaluating players: can they skate, do they turn over the puck at inopportune times and is it repeated (this is really important), do they position themselves correctly, do they have skill and in which areas does it shine, do they have size, are they physical? Then come the fancy stats after those all those aspects of the game have clear answers.

That's it. That's all you have to look for with players in the junior leagues or the minors.

 

[jlockhart89]

One wonders what happened between his pretty solid first year and the last two years. I know Vancouver fans have mentioned that the coaches started demanding more defensive attention and he started to falter. But that can't be the whole story going from 14 goals and 26 pts in 79 games his rookie year to not doing much at all in the AHL two years later can it?

Tocchet

 

[Stoneman89]

When I get home, I’ll give you all a much more detailed opinion on Podkolzin. I’ve watched nearly every one of his NHL games and many of his AHL appearances.

**Update:**

OK, let’s get into it. First of all, it’s really important to mention that Podz was a fan favorite here in Vancouver. I’m 100% sure the market is not going to react well to this, whatsoever.

One of the big reasons for that is because he’s extremely likable. If there’s one thing you absolutely cannot question, it’s his work ethic. He’s one of the hardest-working players I’ve ever seen.

He’s always the last guy off the ice and the first one at the rink, according to reports.

Now, as for his actual talent:

I’ll say this: he’s one of the most perplexing players I’ve watched. There’s clear skill, especially when he’s driving play. He’s a bit of a bull in that regard. He does show flashes of skill, which makes you wonder if he’ll ever fully figure it out.

He’s not the best skater in the world, but he’s not the worst either. He’s pretty average overall. His hands, however, seem made of stone right now. Ironically, he has a pretty nice passing ability and occasionally shows great vision.

He’s just a very odd hockey player. He has tools that make you think, “OK, this guy is definitely going to be a third or fourth liner in the league.”

And it doesn’t make sense, considering how strong and big he is.

When he’s noticeable, though, he’s extremely noticeable. He’s all over the ice, dictating play.

It’s also important to know that he overthinks a lot, which causes problems.

He also has a really nice shot, but he just never seems to finish.

There’s definitely an NHL player there. He has potential, and honestly, I think he’s going to do really well in Edmonton.

You guys should be thrilled that you got him for such a cheap price.

There you have it

Thanks, a very solid and honest post. (Wish there were more Canucklehead fans like you, but I've had some bad and irritating encounters) He's probably like a whole lot of young guys with some talent, trying to find their way in this league, and some of them eventually figure it out and the others become a footnote. Time will tell.

I wish the Oilers had better hockey reporters/analysts who could provide quality opinions breaking down players' games. Hell, I wish the Oilers had better scouts. Professional and amateur.

For me it's very simple evaluating players: can they skate, do they turn over the puck at inopportune times and is it repeated (this is really important), do they position themselves correctly, do they have skill and in which areas does it shine, do they have size, are they physical? Then come the fancy stats after those all those aspects of the game have clear answers.

That's it. That's all you have to look for with players in the junior leagues or the minors.

One other important criteria though. Are they showing any signs of improvement in any of those areas, which would relate to their dedication and willingness to accept coaching and possible change in their game. The ones that do, usually have a career.

 

[TheNumber4]

Damn. I’ll miss calling Podz a bust for the lolz.

 

[TheNumber4]

Highlight only looks okay.

The Nucks players hype job of him is pretty high though. I thought this was funny:

“I think people forget how young he is, what is he like 19 or something?” (He forgot)

 

[Dazed and Confused]

One aspect I'm surprised isn't being talked up more is that this move should put a pretty big chip on Podkolzin's shoulder.

He signed a prove-it deal 4 months ago, and before he had a chance to step on the ice again the team signed half of the available bottom 6 tweeners in the UFA market (Heinen, Sherwood, Sprong) and he was shipped out of town for a song and a dance.

 

[nabob]

I wish the Oilers had better hockey reporters/analysts who could provide quality opinions breaking down players' games. Hell, I wish the Oilers had better scouts. Professional and amateur.

For me it's very simple evaluating players: can they skate, do they turn over the puck at inopportune times and is it repeated (this is really important), do they position themselves correctly, do they have skill and in which areas does it shine, do they have size, are they physical? Then come the fancy stats after those all those aspects of the game have clear answers.

That's it. That's all you have to look for with players in the junior leagues or the minors.

You pretty much described every possible aspect of a junior aged players game that they could be judged on

 

[Captain Fantastic]

One aspect I'm surprised isn't being talked up more is that this move should put a pretty big chip on Podkolzin's shoulder.

He signed a prove-it deal 4 months ago, and before he had a chance to step on the ice again the team signed half of the available bottom 6 tweeners in the UFA market (Heinen, Sherwood, Sprong) and he was shipped out of town for a song and a dance.

Rick Tocchet might be the issue. Kuzmenko was shipped off too.