The Canucks have a logjam of wingers now and Podkolzin could be on the outside looking in.
The projected roster looks something like this:
Hoglander - Miller - Boeser
DeBrusk - Pettersson - Sprong
Joshua - Blueger - Garland
Heinen - Suter - Sherwood
Extras: Di Giuseppe, Aman, Podkolzin, and potentially any of Lekkerimaki, Raty, Sasson, Karlsson, and/or Bains.
I believe Podkolzin will be waiver eligible this season, so the Canucks may wish to deal him before the season begins. Podkolzin has a decent floor as he has a great motor and work ethic, so he likely can play in the bottom 6 with some room for improvement. The Canucks just don’t seem to have any room for him unless he shows really well during training camp/pre-season.
Are there any young defencemen in a similar position as Podkolzin? Young, some NHL experience but failing to become full-time NHLers, and ideally were relatively high draft picks? The only name that comes to mind is Soderstrom, but I believe he is much more likely to bust than Podkolzin, so he’s probably a bad target for the Canucks.