Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
- Oct 12, 2008
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Russian media hit-job on Podkolzin today....guess he's not resigning with SKA.
В Канаде истерика: якобы СКА убивает карьеру русского таланта. Но, кажется, его просто переоценили
In Canada, hysteria: allegedly SKA is killing the career of Russian talent. But it seems he was just overrated For the captain of the Russian youth team Vasily Podkolzin, the upcoming World Cup should be a defining stage in his career. The forward in the KHL rested his head on the wall and in SKA he hardly progresses. Two years ago, one of the most influential functionaries of Russian hockey, Roman Rotenberg, speaking about the universalism of the young player, compared him with Connor McDavid. Let's be fair to those words. There was no question of a comparable level of talent. Although in the public mind the idea of a "Russian MacDavid" has taken root. Although in terms of role, manner and their best qualities, these are completely two different players. I remember the story of the owner of the football "Spartak" Leonid Fedun as a failed prophet. He inadvertently called the young pupil of the club academy Denis Davydov "Russian Messi." Where the unrevealed striker is playing now, without the help of the Internet, you can't remember right away. Podkolzin, unlike Davydov, who lifted his nose ahead of time and lost his motivation, plows conscientiously. Whoever I spoke to from those who know him closely, not a single one doubted the professional attitude of the SKA forward to business. There can be no question of any "star". owever, the young Russian does not dominate even among his peers, and does not stand out at all in the KHL, gaining a modest 6 (2 + 4) points in 24 matches. In the last championship, he showed about the same indicators - 8 (2 + 6) points in 30 games, although he spent on the ice more than two minutes less on average. Last summer, Podkolzina chose Vancouver high in the first round, and the hype around the striker's name grew to a completely indecent size. This is Canada, and every step of the future, as they say, the stars are viewed under a magnifying glass. I can remember something similar only in relation to Nail Yakupov and Edmonton. Vancouver Madness This season, when the striker sometimes dropped out of the main SKA squad and did not score points, not only ordinary fans, but also journalists who called to “save Podkolzin” were in a dizzying mood. Vancouver TSN journalist Rick Dahlival even contacted Rotenberg to find out why the striker was released for a while in the VHL. All of this was almost hysterical. Like, SKA deliberately strangles a player who does not want to stay in Russia. This is not yet a fully resolved issue. Unlike his usual partners in the troika Ivan Morozov and Kirill Marchenko, the forward did not extend the contract with the club, which almost unequivocally hints about Podkolzin's immediate plans. But Vancouver has done absolutely nothing for the hockey player, whom it considers almost his property. The situation improved only after the striker was called up to the youth team, and he played great in the Karjala Cup. Canucks General Manager Jim Benning has a nice touch about the forward's growth and how he is expected in Canada. From the outside, he looks like a lawyer trying to justify the high pick of the 10th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Local media are also doing the usual propaganda work, praising the prospect in every way. Maybe the expectations have dropped a little, but for Podkolzin they still draw a place in the top 6 somewhere next to Elias Pettersson or Bo Horvath - the young leaders of Vancouver's offense. It looks extremely utopian. The SKA forward is efficient, he can pull the puck, he is good at playing along, plows defensively and is good at martial arts. They say that he behaves very correctly in the locker room and in training. But the "wow effect" in his actions is not visible. Skating is still imperfect. The throw never became a lethal weapon. At the age of 19, giving up on Podkolzin is a big mistake. But the positive dynamics is almost invisible. There were almost no cases when a player did not reveal himself in Russia, but later played in North America. The same Nikita Kucherov spent less than half of the season in the KHL and at the same time tore up opponents in the MHL, the Quebec league, and at the youth and junior world championships. Podkolzin's assets include the Glinka Memorial in August 2018, at which he became the top scorer of the tournament with Alexis Lafrenier. In December of the same year, he managed to prove himself just as great at the Youth Challenge Cup in Alberta, Canada, which in many respects secured a place for himself at the MFM-2019 in Vancouver. Since then, there have been only splashes in individual games. We remember the bright juniors of the last decade - in the KHL, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vladimir Tarasenko, Kirill Kaprizov, Pavel Buchnevich looked much brighter. Chance for MFM You can blame the non-stop rotation in the club for everything, where Vasily was torn between troikas and leagues. But many can only dream about it. Rotenberg and Valery Bragin took Podkolzin to the World Youth Championship for another 17 years, almost in advance. He was given a lot of chances to prove himself in the SKA system. However, it cannot be said that Vasily was able to fully use them. He gives all the best, works like a seasoned professional and does not progress, unlike Ivan Morozov and Kirill Marchenko, who were born a year earlier. An interesting detail: Podkolzin begins to look bright, only when he comes out with them in one triple. This was the case both last season and this one. “In this combination, he feels more liberated,” admitted Bragin. - He also sometimes plays well with others. Young, there are some differences. " The coach did not go deeper into details. The World Youth Championship was and remains a tournament that can dramatically change a player's career. Send him into outer space or bury the chances of seriously climbing somewhere. After a successful performance, psychological confidence appears, which is very important at such a tender age, and well-founded claims to a firm place in the main team at the KHL level. Podkolzin seems imperturbable and icy only from the outside. For him, as well as for any young player, emotions and psychology are important. Igor Larionov, judging by the Karjala Cup, knows what to do. In the role of captain and leader, Podkolzin looked great. If he shows himself in the same way at the World Championships, he will receive a great impetus for growth. It is probably naive to expect that the forward will grow into a figure of a galactic scale. At 19, however, there is still room for progress. In an ideal world, he could accompany Ivan Barbashev on the flank of the holding three of the ideal Russian national team in two or three years. Let's be realistic. That's not bad either.
Put people on here told me that there can’t be politics involved
The article is not a complete hit job though to be completely honest, But at the same time it was clearly taking huge shots at the Vancouver media, basically a back-and-forth between Russia and Canada when it comes to this prospect which is actually kind of funny
