Vasily Podkolzin | #92 | RW

[Junkyard Dog]

He's probably gonna start on the bottom 6. Could see Pod follow a Horvat-type progression. 

 

Still though our lineup is gonna be that much more deeper moving forward.

[Smashian Kassian]

Can't wait for this kid to make me forget about Virtanen

[canucklehead44]

19 hours ago, aGENT said:

 

 

Bruhs... Janik Hansen upside...obvs.

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by canucklehead44

[Chronic.Canuck]

11 minutes ago, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

Do you watch the games? Do you see him setting up teammates with high danger chances that they whiff and break sticks on?

 

Podkolzin does everything right and, similar to Hoglander, his raw point totals do not tell the full story. Hoglander is scoring at a higher pace in the NHL this year, than he did in the SHL last year (which is arguably a lesser league).

 

Podkolzin's teammates score on a couple of their blown chances and you're looking at a 19 year old 0.5 PPG player in the KHL (in line with what Hoglander produced this season before coming over).

 

You know who will do a better job of taking Pod's passes and teeing up his chances? Not to mention make him realize he doesn't have to do it all by himself out there? Numbers 9, 40, 6, 53, 36, 43, 88...

Edited January 28, 2021 by Chronic.Canucks.Fan
Typo

[WeneedLumme]

27 minutes ago, Chronic.Canucks.Fan said:

Do you watch the games? Do you see him setting up teammates with high danger chances that they whiff and break sticks on?

 

Podkolzin does everything right and, similar to Hoglander, his raw point totals do not tell the full story. Hoglander is scoring at a higher pace in the NHL this year, than he did in the SHL last year (which is arguably a lesser league).

 

Podkolzin's teammates score on a couple of their blown chances and you're looking at a 19 year old 0.5 PPG player in the KHL (in line with what Hoglander produced this season before coming over).

 

You know who will do a better job of taking Pod's passes and teeing up his chances? Not to mention make him realize he doesn't have to do it all by himself out there? Numbers 9, 40, 6, 53, 36, 43, 88...

Yes, judging a hardworking two-way player or one who is a better playmaker than shooter, strictly on goal production is pretty stupid, and would be something like evaluating Henrik Sedin's or Manny Malhotra's careers solely on their goal totals.

 

Not to mention that whining about his production while ignoring the context of his extremely limited icetime in the first half of last season is also either stupid or dishonest. 

[aGENT]

6 hours ago, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

As a couple other posters already pointed out, informing one's self of context helps to alleviate one's ignorance and making of one's self look like an arsehat.

 

This is 'I can't believe we gave up a first for a third line scrub' all over again.

 

You'd think people would learn.

Edited January 28, 2021 by aGENT

[Honeydew]

oh man, podz and motte both killing penalties.

 

One can only wait for so long. 

[Googlie]

I wonder if Tram is in touch with him about rooming together in Vancouver next season?

[73 Percent]

47 minutes ago, Googlie said:

I wonder if Tram is in touch with him about rooming together in Vancouver next season?

Is tram going on a vacation? 

[Googlie]

6 minutes ago, 73 Percent said:

Is tram going on a vacation? 

Vancouver WA?

[Kootenay Gold]

59 minutes ago, Googlie said:

I wonder if Tram is in touch with him about rooming together in Vancouver next season?

Don't think Tryamkin's wife Anastasiya would approve of that idea lol.

[Stierlitz]

Podkolzin is selected to the Russian national team to play in the 3rd round of the EuroTour in Sweden on Feb 11-14. Igor Larionov is still the head coach for this team which includes some young players from the U20 junior team played in Edmonton.

Russia-Finland  on Feb 11

Sweden-Russia  Feb 13

Russia-Czech Rep.  Feb 14.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Stierlitz

[J.I.A.H.N]

56 minutes ago, Stierlitz said:

Podkolzin is selected to the Russian national team to play in the 3rd round of the EuroTour in Sweden on Feb 11-14. Igor Larionov is still the head coach for this team which includes some young players from the U20 junior team played in Edmonton.

Russia-Finland  on Feb 11

Sweden-Russia  Feb 13

Russia-Czech Rep.  Feb 14.

Great news Stierlitz

I think?

Was Podzkolzin coming to Vancouver this year?

And does this exclude him from playoffs

Or was that never a consideration

I generally don't worry about that stuff

so never paid much attention until now

 

PS...Thanks for all the work you do on our Prospects

Always look for your reports

Cheers!

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

As I had argued with some people on this board about Jett Woo, I will apply the same argument here as well.

 

Simply looking at HockeyDB and other stats sites give you a very limited understanding of the context of the player and his season(s). You need to look at the full picture, because simply looking at the numbers, you fall into the trap of making a scouting report based on isolated stats alone which doesn't reveal the full picture of the player. 

 

Context:

Last year, Podkolzin fought tooth and nail to get into the KHL. For the better half of last year in 2019-2020, Podkolzin was bounced up and down between SKA's KHL parent club down to the VHL (the AHL equivalent). https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-prospect-vasily-podkolzin-turning-khl/

 

Quote

Podkolzin went without a single point through his first 17 KHL games this season, but there was more to that total than met the eye. The fact was that Podkolzin more often than not played less than 10 minutes a game, recording more than that amount just five times in that span — the most being when he logged 11:55 in a late November game.

 

And beyond that, Podkolzin didn’t spend this entire season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. He also played 16 games in the second-tier VHL and two in the junior MHL, scoring eight and four points, respectively. He was a step above those leagues, but not getting much opportunity in the highest pro league in Russia. Part of the reason was because, well, he’s 18 years old, and another is that the SKA team he plays on is a stacked unit that finished with the second-best regular season record.

Even in his elite prospects page https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/512832/vasili-podkolzin bounced between 3 leagues because he simply was too good for the VHL and MHL but due to the typical politics in the KHL hockey clubs, they give heavy responsibilities to the veteran players and leave very few for up and coming players. That also reduces the ability for younger players to find offensive creativity and often delegated to role playing roles.

 

However, once Podkolzin was given opportunity he flourished as seen below

Quote

After the WJC, Podkolzin played more than 10 minutes in 13 of 16 regular season games. He recorded his first point of the season in his third game back and started on a four-game point streak. For the rest of the way, the 18-year-old averaged just over 12 minutes per game, which still isn’t a huge number, but Podkolzin was clearly being trusted more in his bottom-six role.

And his offence took off. Podkolzin’s season-long numbers say he scored eight points in 30 games, but with a little context you’ll notice he scored all eight of those points in his last 13 regular season games. That’s a points per game rate of .615, which would rank roughly 62nd in the league across a full season.

 

But comparing Podkolzin to all players in his 18-year-old KHL season is hardly a way to measure the player. So to give you some historical perspective and context into how Podkolzin is producing relative to other players his age, here are the top five KHL seasons, by points per game, for those who were under the age of 19, per EliteProspects.com:

Eeli Tolvanen, Jokerit, 2017-18: 0.73
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Traktor Chelyabinsk, 2010-11: 0.73
Vladimir Tarasenko, Sibir Novosibirsk, 2009-10: 0.57
Kirill Kaprizov, Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 2015-16: 0.51
Pavel Buchnevich, Severstal Cherepovets, 2013-14: 0.45

And Podkolzin is still going. His SKA team just finished a first-round sweep of Vityaz, in which Podkolzin recorded a goal and two assists — plus he recorded a heavy 24:31 of ice time in a Game 4 that required three overtimes. That was the only game in the series in which he did not record a point. His ice time and six shots on goal that game were career-highs for him in the KHL.

 

Podkolzin’s strength to this point has been his defensive and hockey sense as well as his physical nature, but we’re seeing now how his offensive game could thrive if given the right opportunity.

Now context for this year:

 

As I have hotly contested through the year since September, SKA's handling of Podkolzin was atrocious and influenced solely by politics. KHL's struggle to keep young and upcoming Russian hockey stars has been increasing, thus SKA tried already 3 times since August to resign Podkolzin. Vasili knows his future is not in SKA and wants to go to play in the NHL, his dream as he has said before. SKA obviously pissed off by this have not only yo-yo'd Podkolzin out of the KHL lineup, but from the VHL to the KHL multiple occasions, from the fouth line one game to the first line (which in the 3 games he did get to play scored 1 goal and 2 assists) but was quickly made a health scratch are demoted. Again more context, last year Podkolzin's fourth line mates were Ivan Morozov and Kirill Marchenko. All three players had near identical stat lines, yet both were promoted to the first and second line to start the season. Big reason, both are signed for multiple years with SKA, thus eliminating their threat of leaving to the NHL, which both are highly touted prospects for Columbus and Vegas. However, Podkolzin refusing to resign obviously pisses SKA off, and why bother developing a player if he has no intention to stay long term. 

Even when playing on the fourth line, Podkolzin has been the motor and source of life. 

 

The moment he was released by SKA to join team Russia at the Karjala Cup, Vasili Podkolzin was given responsibilities on the PK, PP, line 1, and was given responsibility to be a key contributor on a very young Russia team. This tournament generally consists of veteran laden teams from Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, and other countries. Yet Podkolzin led a team that had the oldest player being 21, and youngest 18.  His stats looked pretty darn good too in the tourney, helping Russia secure the championship. Igor Larionov had stated that his role in coaching him was to help Podkolzin develop his offensive game WHILE still helping him learn to play the full complete game.

 

 

I don't really want to repeat the stuff I've stated for the WJC, if you want to look back through the thread you can see the evidence how Podkolzin was the straw that stirred the pot.  From controlled zone exits, to zone entries, puck possession, and shots generated, Podkolzin was top 5 in those categories by the end of the tournament. While also again leading an extremely young Russian team.

 

I remember a quote about Jonathan Toews, and someone saying Toews has the offensive skills to regularly put up 80-100 points a season. However, his dedication to playing a well rounded game, he sacrifices his offensive output so that his team has defensive conscientiousness. No wonder Toews has 3 Stanley Cups.  Podkolzin very much the same thing. He has the offensive ability and skill to dictate a game all on his zone should he want to, however, his dedication to playing sound two way defensive hockey shows maturity and sacrifice for the team. That was evident through this past season and for team Russia. Not only that, he is the one doing the dirty work along the boards, in front of the net, in his own zone, and often covering for his teammates who blew defensive assignments. 

 

Despite all that, his offensive skills are evident, and simply would help if he had more players around him on his line who receive his passes and help provide more ozone support.

 

I get the frustration that he isn't accumulating the points, but Podkolzin is a different breed of player. Leave Petey, Hughes, Boes, Hoglander to accumulate the points. You have those skilled guys and stats accumulating guys, you need a mix too. Podkolzin will bring just about everything else from dragging his team into the battle, leading by example, making hits, taking shot blocks, winning board battles, having a busy stick to block passing lanes, to being the guy you want on the ice in the final minute to either get a goal or secure the lead. Podkolzin very much is like Bo Horvat, where he isn't super flashy or super special in regards to his offensive game, but he brings everything you need in order to win hockey games and ultimately an attitude that wins you championships.

 

Don't focus on his points, it severely blinds you from the full picture that Podkolzin brings to the table which makes him such a tantalizing prospect.

 

 

Yes, we all want offense, the stats line padded, and the flash. In all honesty, thats great to have, but we already have that. Frankly based on what we have seen in the last few years, we need more players like Podkolzin who give a damn.  As many have said before, his "give a Sh*t meter" is high. His character, his leading by example is what inspires teammates that they would walk through a wall for him. He has the will and skill to be successful. He isn't going to rack up the score sheet like we have had the luxury to see from Boeser, Petey, and Hughes, but to underestimate how good he is also offensively is also a mistake.

 

So to answer your statement before, 6 goals in 62 games in the KHL yeah, not great, but when you exclude context, you miss out on the reason why its been low. The fallacy of simply looking at stats leads one to be deceived of the true identity of the player. 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

16 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

Great news Stierlitz

I think?

Was Podzkolzin coming to Vancouver this year?

And does this exclude him from playoffs

Or was that never a consideration

I generally don't worry about that stuff

so never paid much attention until now

 

PS...Thanks for all the work you do on our Prospects

Always look for your reports

Cheers!

I think it depends on if the World Championships will be played this year or not. If the tournament gets cancelled, then we may see him in a Canucks uniform.

[khay]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

Ah, Nichushkin, the guy that we shoulda have drafted in 2013 draft. Brings back some memories... he was compared to Malkin if I'm not mistaken. Didn't know he is a defensive specialist now.

 

If Podkolzin becomes a third liner that kills penalties and defends the lead; that strengthens our lineup. 

We need quality players at all positions to win the cup. 

The top 6 is kind of set with maybe one LW spot available anyways and acquiring a top 6 LW should be the easiest among all positions that needs to be filled.

 

[Ray_Cathode]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

Except for a few games Podkolzin was just getting five minutes a night on the last line. In addition, you managed to miss the fact that in World Juniors he had 9 assists to go with the 3 goals and that he is primarily a playmaker offensively.

[ShawnAntoski]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

Some context on his deployment and usage should probably be considered when looking at his stat...

[Junkyard Dog]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, canucklehead44 said:

6 goals in 62 KHL games is still horrific no matter how you cut it. I am pumped to see him score and he has obvious skill but still a concern until he can get consistency. Nichushkin scored 15 goals over his first 54 KHL games and is now purely a defensive specialist in the NHL. 

 

3 goals in 21 World Junior games isn't impressive either from an offensive standpoint. Again love the player, he is going to be valuable but for whatever reason he struggles to put up points. 

4 points in 2 Russian junior games last year in the MHL.

 

8 points in 16 games the Russian equivalent of the AHL the VHL last year. 1 point in the 1 game this year in the VHL

 

3 points in 4 KHL playoff games.

 

Have to remember he is still 19 years old too and will be 19 for the rest of the season. June 24th birthday.

 

Averaged 8:49 last year in the KHL averaging 12 shifts a game. Averaging 12:06 this year averaging 16.9 shifts a game.

 

You take in all KHL playoff+season games he has 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points and is a +12 in 66 games playing an average of 10:21 a game. All that while he is 18/19 years old

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Junkyard Dog

[-Vintage Canuck-]