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

[Drivesaitl]

pods is a bust. He's a bust that skates and hits. But that isn't close to enough to be given NHL contract or for us to have had to give up asset.

whodafuk wrote this?

heh

Much credit to Podz for the fight, knockout, and putting some grit on the line. Respect he's willing to do this, then he gets revised view in my book. HIs big mitts are bad for scoring but good for slugging. Who knew? Never knew he could punch like that. He's b een good digging for pucks. Hitting.

 

[McFlyingV]

Think they finally found a good fit for Drai and Arvidsson who have really developed chemistry. Understands his role on this line. Forecheck hard, hit, get pucks to his linemates, and drive the net.

If that trio continues to click it will go a long way to getting the bottom 6 going when Kane returns and Philp inevitably takes Ryan's spot full-time.

I could get behind this:
Kane-McDavid-Hyman
Podz-Drai-Arvidsson
Nuge-Henrique-Skinner
Philp and some combination of Janmark, Brown, Perry, and maybe Caggiula?

 

[LMFAO]

If Podz has 25-30pts, over 200 hits and a couple of fights this season this is a huge win.

 

[McFlyingV]

If Podz has 25-30pts, over 200 hits and a couple of fights this season this is a huge win.

30+ points on Drai's wing would be pretty acceptable tbh given the other things he brings to the line. Has 2 points in 4 games on that line so far and excellent underlying numbers all season. He keeps that up and he'll have a permanent spot there which will allow them to balance the other lines better. Still think a Nuge-Henrique-Skinner line could be interesting to explore when Kane is back.

 

[Soundwave]

As I said, give this kid a chance, there's a player there. He created the Arvidsson goal with strong board work and then murdered that Preds player in a fight (glad to see the Preds player didn't hit his head on the ice because that would've been awful).

If he can find his timing with some of the more skilled players (namely Drai) on the team and gain some confidence, I think he can pot some goals too around the net eventually, but it's going to require some patience.

Once he gets more comfortable and gets a bounce, he could be a real problem on the forecheck for other teams.

 

[MessierII]

This guy can play. Much more of a physical presence than Holloway. As long as he’s skating hard and forechecking he can be an effective third wheel on that line.

 

[McFlyingV]

As I said, give this kid a chance, there's a player there. He created the Arvidsson goal with strong board work and then murdered that Preds player in a fight (glad to see the Preds player didn't hit his head on the ice because that would've been awful).

If he can find his timing with some of the more skilled players (namely Drai) on the team and gain some confidence, I think he can pot some goals too around the net eventually, but it's going to require a bit of patience.

Honestly if he can put up 10-20-30 this year on that line it would be a huge win. Thats essentially what Drai was already getting from line mates like McLeod, but Podkolzin brings so much more in terms of physicality and effective forechecking. Would essentially replace what Foegele brought his first two seasons here when he didn't have a career season that he'll never replicate, and he'd be doing it with way more physicality than Foegele brought.

 

[Soundwave]

I'm not saying it's the same, but people forget now too, Nichushkin scored 14 as a rookie (so did Podkolzin).

Nichushkin then scored only 9 goals in his next 144 games (parts of the next 3 seasons) during a miserable stretch in Dallas to be labelled a bust.

Colorado got him for basically nothing. And it still took a further two years in Colorado of him being nurtured along until he finally broke out with a 25 goal season the year they win the Cup, 9 goals in the Cup run to go with it.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I can see a player here.

10 games in and you can start to see the game slowing down for him, and he's often finding his way to the right spots on the ice. Considering he's not a pure burner, it shows some hockey IQ that he's in positions in catch guys. He also had a nice defensive reverse in his own zone, and as GYB noted, he was making sure he was getting the puck to Drai with quick;y with straightforward plays.

I'm curious to see if there's another level there, he's only 23 and to my eye his biggest issue is timing. Not so much in getting to the right spot at the right time, but getting to the right spot with his stick in the right place and ready to shoot.

 

[McFlyingV]

I can see a player here.

10 games in and you can start to see the game slowing down for him, and he's often finding his way to the right spots on the ice. Considering he's not a pure burner, it shows some hockey IQ that he's in positions in catch guys. He also had a nice defensive reverse in his own zone, and as GYB noted, he was making sure he was getting the puck to Drai with quick;y with straightforward plays.

I'm curious to see if there's another level there, he's only 23 and to my eye his biggest issue is timing. Not so much in getting to the right spot at the right time, but getting to the right spot with his stick in the right place and ready to shoot.

Agree on most accounts except regarding his skating. I've been to every preseason and home game so far and his straight line speed is one of the best on the team. You notice it every night watching in person.

 

[McFlyingV]

I'm not saying it's the same, but people forget now too, Nichushkin scored 14 as a rookie (so did Podkolzin).

Nichushkin then scored only 9 goals in his next 144 games (parts of the next 3 seasons) during a miserable stretch in Dallas to be labelled a bust.

Colorado got him for basically nothing. And it still took a further two years in Colorado of him being nurtured along until he finally broke out with a 25 goal season the year they win the Cup, 9 goals in the Cup run to go with it.

Probably doesn't have the hands to be a Nichushkin, but he could very well turn into a Tom Wilson type of player (minus the dirty hits) that you can plug in your top 6 to do the forechecking and grunt work for a highly skilled centre.

 

[Soundwave]

Probably doesn't have the hands to be a Nichushkin, but he could very well turn into a Tom Wilson type of player (minus the dirty hits) that you can plug in your top 6 to do the forechecking and grunt work for a highly skilled centre.

It looks to me like he can shoot the biscuit. It's just going to take some time for him to get his timing correct and understand where he needs to be on the ice to cash on easy feeds from Draisaitl. Nichushkin had like a brutal period where he didn't score at all for like 60 straight games or something.

 

[Jumptheshark]

If Podz has 25-30pts, over 200 hits and a couple of fights this season this is a huge win.

He is on pace 14pts right now... I saw enought Canuck games to suspect that goal scoring is not in his tool box. He has lots of tools but forgets his tool box at home

 

[Soundwave]

He is on pace 14pts right now... I saw enought Canuck games to suspect that goal scoring is not in his tool box. He has lots of tools but forgets his tool box at home

If he's playing with zero skill players, ok, but when he is given a chance with more skilled guys I think he can score.

It's just a matter of him figuring out how to play with Draisaitl and where he can get easy goals around the net.

Everyone on this board loves to talk about wanting younger players this and that, but then only about 40% of people want to put up with the development time and patience and nurturing it takes to develop anything but slam dunk players that will require some unsexy stretches of patience.

He doesn't have to drive a line offensively, if he can figure out how to get some easy gimmes playing with more talented players, he could do very well here in time.

 

[McFlyingV]

It looks to me like he can shoot the biscuit. It's just going to take some time for him to get his timing correct and understand where he needs to be on the ice to cash on easy feeds from Draisaitl.

He can shoot for sure, but Nichushkin has borderline elite hands that Podz just doesn't. Too many bobbles and mishandles imo to ever look like Nuke. With that said I do agree there is some untapped offensive potential that could come out with a guy like Draisaitl. I just wouldn't count on a near ppg player like Nuke has been. To me Podz has a lot of similar qualities to Puljujarvi, but he is a much more physical player which makes his forechecking more effective than Jesse who was more of a stick checker on the forecheck. Both have similar issues with the odd bobble when trying to control pucks, but both are good skaters that show quality awareness on the defensive side as well.

So far so good for Podz though in his audition with Draisaitl. He's playing his role on that line perfectly and will be there long-term if he keeps doing it night in and night out, and now I know he can throw em with anyone taking liberties on Drai. Not that Drai needs the protecting because he's built like a truck, but nice to have a guy out there who will push back for him.

 

[Soundwave]

He can shoot for sure, but Nichushkin has borderline elite hands that Podz just doesn't. Too many bobbles and mishandles imo to ever look like Nuke. With that said I do agree there is some untapped offensive potential that could come out with a guy like Draisaitl. I just wouldn't count on a near ppg player like Nuke has been. To me Podz has a lot of similar qualities to Puljujarvi, but he is a much more physical player which makes his forechecking more effective than Jesse who was more of a stick checker on the forecheck. Both have similar issues with the odd bobble when trying to control pucks, but both are good skaters that show quality awareness on the defensive side as well.

So far so good for Podz though in his audition with Draisaitl. He's playing his role on that line perfectly and will be there long-term if he keeps doing it night in and night out, and now I know he can throw em with anyone taking liberties on Drai. Not that Drai needs the protecting because he's built like a truck, but nice to have a guy out there who will push back for him.

If wasn't such a low IQ player, Puljujarvi could've carved out a niche as a 20+ goal scorer here. Podkolzin has more skill than Puljujarvi too, a couple of those drag move + top shelf goals I don't think Jesse would be capable of.

Another player Podz in time may want to look at is someone like Zack Hyman. What was Zack Hyman in his first few years? A 10-15 goal grinder. Talk about getting a boost once he learned to play with Matthews/Marner and then McDavid. If there ever was a "grinder who turned into a all-star forward" to look up, Hyman would be it.

 

[McFlyingV]

He is on pace 14pts right now... I saw enought Canuck games to suspect that goal scoring is not in his tool box. He has lots of tools but forgets his tool box at home

Most of that is with Ryan and Perry though. Perry has been a nice surprise this year, but he's not carrying a line, and Ryan looks like he belongs in retirement. He's put up 2 points in 4 games with Drai and Arvidsson which is a good start. If he can chip in 10-20-30 he will be a very valuable piece for all the other things he brings to that line.

 

[McFlyingV]

If wasn't such a low IQ player, Puljujarvi could've carved out a niche as a 20+ goal scorer here. Podkolzin has more skill than Puljujarvi too, a couple of those drag move + top shelf goals I don't think Jesse would be capable of.

Another player Podz in time may want to look at is someone like Zack Hyman. What was Zack Hyman in his first few years? A 10-15 goal grinder. Talk about getting a boost once he learned to play with Matthews/Marner and then McDavid.

Yeah I mean I think confidence is a huge factor with this player as well. He came into the league with a ton of confidence and was making plays consistently as a rookie. If he can get that confidence back on a line with Draisaitl there is some upside there offensively. Honestly if he could become a 15-20 goal and 40 point guy who brings a physical forechecking game and is defensively responsible then it would be an absolute steal for the Oilers on Draisaitl's line.

I'm a big believer in mixing different elements on a line instead of just playing the most skilled and talented players together. I'd much rather have 3 balanced scoring lines that have many different elements than stacking 2 lines with a lot of redundant or similar elements. It's why I've always liked players like Kane and Hyman on McDavid's wing.