Vasily Podkolzin and the trade that keeps on giving |
The Edmonton Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin on Aug. 18, 2024, from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2025 (114th overall).
The Oilers actually re-acquired the pick from Vancouver when the Oilers traded Evander Kane to Vancouver on Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. To date, the trade has worked out extremely well for the Oilers and Podkolzin, and with each passing game, it looks better and better.
Podkolzin set a new career high with his 15th goal of the season last night. All of his goals have come at five-on-five, and last night, he showed a great burst of speed to blow through two Vegas defenders and beat Adin Hill.
Podkolzin is tied for 37th in five-on-five goals with Mikko Rantanen and Kirill Marchenko. He is one back of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for the lead on the Oilers. Podkolzin’s five-on-five scoring rates this season are almost identical to Zach Hyman’s.
Player
TOI/GP
GF/60
AF/60
PTS/60
Hyman
15:33
1.03
0.86
1.89
Podkolzin
13:36
1.01
0.87
1.88
This is Podkolzin’s third full NHL season. He did split two seasons between the NHL and AHL, so it is his fifth season in North America. He is only 24 years old, and how much more production he will have in the future is unknown. When Hyman was 24, he was in his first full NHL season with the Maple Leafs and tallied six goals five-on-five and 10 overall. At ages 25-27 he scored 13, 14, anfd 12 goals five-on-five........