ranked him<\/a> No. 12: \u201cPodkolzin can make the flashy plays to deke defenders, but he rarely does that off a standstill or along the walls. He has hard skill. Podkolzin is typically full speed ahead to the net; and if he needs to go around or through you, he will. He\u2019s also a very good playmaker and finisher who can take advantage of space if defenders make off him by making a pass or sniping from a distance.\u201d<\/p>\nPronman\u2019s line about \u201chard skill\u201d matches Podkolzin\u2019s strengths. His goals against the Maple Leafs on Saturday indicate the player has successfully graduated from talent to production. He\u2019ll need to prove it over the rest of this season, but Pronman\u2019s description of the range of skills remains there and is now being successfully deployed in the NHL.<\/p>\n
Red Line Report are notoriously hard markers, but loved Podkolzin on draft day. He was No. 3 on their list. Red Line: \u201cGreat combination of skill, shot and nasty demeanor. Always intense and plays with great effort. Wins all his battles. Rips cannons for goals.\u201d Red Line called him a \u201cfirst line sniper with toughness\u201d and compared him to Vladimir Tarasenko. We\u2019ll count that as the outer marker for Podkolzin\u2019s ceiling, and agree he isn\u2019t there yet.<\/p>\n
Wait five years<\/p>\n
The prevailing wisdom for draft picks is to wait five years after they are chosen to make the call. For a team like Vancouver, annually invested in making the playoffs and being relevant in the standings, patience is a difficult thing to muster. In fairness to Canucks management, Podkolzin was playing a depth role (bottom six) and getting passed often by other Vancouver prospects.<\/p>\n
The five-year rule is worth looking at in Podkolzin\u2019s case. Was he any good in Vancouver?<\/p>\n
YearAgeGPPts-60Goal Pct<\/p>\n
2021-22<\/p>\n
20<\/p>\n
79<\/p>\n
1.47<\/p>\n
57<\/p>\n
2022-23<\/p>\n
21<\/p>\n
39<\/p>\n
0.96<\/p>\n
43<\/p>\n
2023-24<\/p>\n
22<\/p>\n
19<\/p>\n
0.62<\/p>\n
36<\/p>\n
2024-25<\/p>\n
23<\/p>\n
82<\/p>\n
1.43<\/p>\n
49<\/p>\n
2025-26<\/p>\n
24<\/p>\n
32<\/p>\n
1.99<\/p>\n
62<\/p>\n
All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick<\/p>\n
This is Podkolzin as an NHL player. He arrived at 20, was inserted directly into the lineup and performed well in the role deployed. His goal share was strong, and he played about 26 percent of his five-on-five minutes against elites. That\u2019s bottom six, but at 20, he was impressive in all areas but individual offence. His 1.47 points per 60 in 2021-22 ranked No. 258 among the more than 400 forwards who played 400-plus minutes that season. That\u2019s third-line offence as a 20-year-old rookie. Add in a 57 percent goal share, and his first season was solid.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t build on it, though, as happens when a team is changing coaches often. Vancouver went from Travis Green to Bruce Boudreau to Rick Tocchet in the first two seasons of Podkolzin\u2019s NHL career. He got lost in the flood. In his last two seasons with the Canucks, Podkolzin played 72 AHL and 58 NHL games. His value was reduced from his draft number (No. 10 in the 2019 draft) to the No. 117 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. That selection would eventually be returned to Edmonton for Evander Kane.<\/p>\n
Podkolzin in Edmonton<\/p>\n
Last season, Podkolzin started on a line with centre Derek Ryan and winger Corey Perry. The line didn\u2019t score, but outshot the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 with an expected goal share of 67 percent five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick. As the season evolved, Podkolzin was linked most often with Draisaitl and scored 1.43 points per 60 with a 49 percent goal share. His points per 60 ranked No. 234 among forwards who played 400-plus minutes at five-on-five. That\u2019s third-line offence, and he was almost 50 percent in goal share. The downside comes in the knowledge that he played with Draisaitl, where he scored 2.17 points per 60 with a 59 percent goal share. He wasn\u2019t getting much done away from the second line. This year, things are looking better.<\/p>\n
Stat2024-252025-26<\/p>\n
Pts-60 overall<\/p>\n
1.43<\/p>\n
1.99<\/p>\n
NHL rank<\/p>\n
234 of 395<\/p>\n
108 of 388<\/p>\n
Level<\/p>\n
third line<\/p>\n
second line<\/p>\n
Pts-60 w\/29<\/p>\n
2.17<\/p>\n
2.23<\/p>\n
NHL rank<\/p>\n
54 of 395<\/p>\n
71 of 388<\/p>\n
Level<\/p>\n
first line<\/p>\n
first line<\/p>\n
Pts-60 w\/o 29<\/p>\n
0.71<\/p>\n
1.52<\/p>\n
NHL rank<\/p>\n
381 of 395<\/p>\n
198 of 395<\/p>\n
Level<\/p>\n
fourth line<\/p>\n
third line<\/p>\n
All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick<\/p>\n
The numbers show Podkolzin has been highly productive with Draisaitl in both seasons. He\u2019s getting zoomed by Draisaitl, of course, but that\u2019s universal for all wingers. The big news this year is his increased production when playing on another line. He isn\u2019t a driver of a unit individually, but the improvement year over year is impressive. Let\u2019s answer the question.<\/p>\n
How close could he get to his draft day promise?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Canucks took him at No. 10, so the Red Line scouting report from 2019 is probably close to what the Vancouver draft room believed when taking Podkolzin. That\u2019s a ceiling he\u2019s unlikely to reach as an NHL player. However, if he can produce around 2.00 points per 60 at five-on-five, with the goal share staying at current levels, it would be reasonable to state Podkolzin is a legit second-line winger. That\u2019s a valuable player. Oilers general manager Stan Bowman bought low on Podkolzin, and it has paid off handsomely. The Oilers have paid more in trade for less production many times over the last decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Canada, the Saturday game in Toronto is the feature game of the week. Fans from other cities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,3275,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-349609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}