Where were you on November 23? Unless it is your birthday or a date of special significance, you probably won’t be able to answer this question without taking some time to think. For Vasily Podkolzin, November 23 is a date that he won’t forget anytime soon. Collectively with the faithful of the Rogers Place, Podkolzin was able to finally exhale after he had just scored his first goal as an Edmonton Oiler.
Since then, Podkolzin has scored two more times and collected three assists to add to his 11 point total on the season. While his stat sheet is starting to improve offensively, it is his overall play that has made him arguably the best addition of the Oilers’ off-season. How has been able to and how does he continue to define his role? Let’s explore this below.
Finding his role
As a top 10 draft pick, Podkolzin was picked by the Vancouver Canucks with high expectations. His first season with Vancouver was an admirable one, producing 26 points in 79 games. He then found himself spending more time in the AHL in the following two seasons as he would eventually lose his spot in the Vancouver Canucks lineup when he was traded to the Oilers this past summer.
With much hype around the signings of offensively proven stalwarts in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson to help boost the team’s top-six forward group, Podkolzin’s addition was somewhat overlooked. However, as the season continued to progress, it would be Podkolzin who would start to find himself more frequently included into the top forward group, and deservedly so.
So far into the campaign, Oilers have not had much of a physical edge to their game. Often times, they would find themselves outhit, which was evident in their most recent game against the Florida Panthers (21 hits for Oilers, 39 hits for the Panthers). While Podkolzin may have been snake bitten offensively early into the season, he used this as an opportunity to create an impact in a different way. He quickly became Oilers’ physical leader and has maintained his standing in the hits column with 70 hits in 31 contests so far. Another example of this is his fight with Jeremy Lauzon which needs no words of explanation.
His decision to step up physically paid off, as he quickly became a frequent linemate to Leon Draisaitl and would provide the physicality that has helped his line to maintain good offensive zone pressure. This would pay off when he would finally score his first goal as an Oiler (first goal since 2023 altogether) with Draisaitl being the primary assist on the play. Podkolzin’s physicality, especially around the boards, has continued to help dictate play in the offensive zone as Edmonton has been rediscovering their winning ways.
How Podkolzin can maintain his impact
What should Podkolzin do to maintain his impact? The answer is the simple: keep doing what you are doing. Podkolzin is a hard working, studious player who can clearly carve out a role for himself and make an impact even if his offensive production runs dry. With him on the ice at all strengths this season, the expected goal percentage is 59.83%, which shows that his presence makes the team more likely to score than to be scored against.
Although we are too early into the season, an interesting question arises about Podkolzin’s fit into the lineup come playoff time. Playoff hockey is a physical affair and having a player of Podkolzin’s make will certainly help with this. Given his current place in the lineup, Podkolzin would likely replace Warren Foegele’s impact on the second line. Interesting enough, Foegele’s expected goal percentage at all strengths this season is 57.97% which is close to Podkolzin’s. However, while Foegele may be more offensively present on the stat sheet, he does not have the presence nor the ability to create the pressure in the offensive zone that maintains the play in the same way that Podkolzin does.
In a playoff team last year that relied significantly on creating odd-man rushes and power play opportunities to score, Podkolzin may be a part of the solution for an Oilers team looking to be a more dominant and balanced threat at 5v5. With Evander Kane’s possible return closer to end of season/playoffs, his addition to the line with Podkolzin and Draisaitl may help to turn a potent scorer (Kane) into a difficult to contain threat.
Moving Forward
Oilers are coming off a tough loss to the Panthers on Monday in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final and they will be hopeful to quickly return back to their winning ways. Oilers continue their five-game homestand with a matchup against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night and you can bet Podkolzin will be looking to continue building on his promising campaign.
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