So far in Vasily Podkolzin’s brief NHL career, it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to the expectations created by being a tenth-overall draft pick.
Podkolzin wasn’t terrible in his rookie season, by any means, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 79 games, but then couldn’t stick in the NHL in his sophomore season, spending 28 games with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL. Even there, he didn’t dominate the way one might expect from a top-ten pick, tallying 18 points in those 28 games.
Now 22, Podkolzin is heading toward his third NHL season with a lot of uncertainty. With the Canucks’ depth on the wing and his waiver eligibility, Podkolzin could easily find himself back in the AHL again rather than being the impactful, two-way power forward the Canucks envisioned when they picked him in 2019.
According to Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, Podkolzin has to get out of his own head. Where some coaches might be looking for a rookie to tighten up his game, Tocchet wants the exact opposite from Podkolzin.
“Podzy's just got to let it hang,” said Tocchet to Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Sportsnet 650. “He's just got to play almost a little reckless.”
When asked if Podkolzin was playing too conservatively, Tocchet agreed, saying, “That’s a fair assessment.”
“I think when he gets in trouble, he receives the puck and then he makes his decision,” said Tocchet. “It seems like, he's getting it and he just wants to, you know, make that safe play, whether it's a chip up the boards when sometimes nobody's on you. That's the time to make a play or move your feet.”
Tocchet said that some of that comes with experience and that he believes Podkolzin “learned a lot last year.” The winger earned praise towards the end of last season for his north-south game, with Tocchet calling him a “moose” and a “bull” at times, but he was far too inconsistent.
There were flashes of the high-flying, “reckless” game that Podkolzin played in his draft year that earned him so much praise from scouts but they were few and far between. To be fair, he was primarily playing on the fourth line, which doesn’t offer many opportunities to play anything other than a safe game.
The challenge for Podkolzin is that there’s only so much ice time to go around on the right wing. Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev will likely play on the top line with Elias Pettersson, with one of them on the right wing, then Brock Boeser and Conor Garland will battle it out to play on the second line with J.T. Miller, with whoever loses that battle settling in on the third line.
Even the fourth line isn’t a certainty for Podkolzin, as Nils Höglander, who is no longer exempt from waivers, could swap over from the left wing to supplant him. The Canucks simply have way too many wingers, especially if Tanner Pearson is healthy enough to play.
Barring a trade, Podkolzin is going to be in a major battle just to get on the opening-night roster, let alone in the lineup. That makes this offseason a significant one for Podkolzin, as he needs to come to camp ready to win that battle.
Instead of heading back home to Russia, Podkolzin is staying in Vancouver to train and is working out with Canucks prospect Danila Klimovich, who is similarly staying in Vancouver instead of returning to Belarus.
“I saw him walking around the development camp and he looks shredded. He looks lean,” said Tocchet. “He's the type of guy, you tell him, you know, make sure you're in shape, and he's gonna workout every single day.”
In fact, Podkolzin was maybe a little bit too lean and shredded.
“I told him to back off and take a little vacation,” said Tocchet, noting that Podkolzin’s wife just gave birth to their first child. “Just enjoy your baby and stuff, too. Like, don't get too crazy.
“But that's the one thing I love about him is that he does work hard.”
