Prospect Info: Vasili Podkolzin, Pt. II

[F A N]

With every other NHL team and their fans, you don't hear this kind of stuff. The GMs and scouts are apparently always on the same page, all the time. They don't have internal debates about who wants who, because they all want the same player. The GMs backs off, and gives 100% control over to the scouts. The GMs end up getting all the credit for the drafting, and you never even hear the scouts' names. Other teams do it the right way.

Meanwhile in Van, anything good happens only despite the GM, never ever because of him. The GM won't let his scouts have full control. The GM also doesn't get credit for the drafts, while only 1 of the scouts gets all the credit while being propped up on a pedestal and worshipped, as the other scouts are completely dismissed. In fact, you can't even mention the words "Benning" and "drafted" in the same sentence, with offending the Brackett Boys.

And it was obviously Gilman who fought for Brackett's promotion to Director of Amateur Scouting after working with him for 6 years. Benning hardly knew the guy. Never ran into him in Boston.

 

[VanillaCoke]

I like Pods tenacious play in all zones tbh, but his skating needs work and I'm still having a hard time seeing a top line player.

I wish we'd taken newhook but hopefully pod puts it all together this year with more minutes/opportunity

 

[rypper]

Jesus guys it's not like this is all wild fan fiction shared on message boards and e journals.

It's reporters working for local and national media with their reputations on the line, reporting it.

If you start discrediting all the sports writers and reporters who put something out you don't like or don't want to hear soon you'll just be alone in a room hearing the echo of your own voice saying "this is fine."ignoring all reality.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

I was actually surprised so many posters liked the Podkolzin pick. In reality, I think many of us would have been happy trading down, getting an extra 2nd, and selecting a guy like Newhook or Krebs.

I do like the Podkolzin pick as I like him as a player and I think he is BPA at #10. He was a logical and reasonable pick at that spot.
I would also like if we were able to move down to say #15 to take Newhook/Krebs/Heinola if it comes with a 2nd rounder. However, these types of trades rarely happens so I can't blame Jim for not pulling one off (even if he wanted to, it takes another team willing to move up at that price).
At the end of the day Podkolzin is a good prospect and a reasonable choice at #10, so I think that is why many of us liked the pick, despite not moving down.

 

[VC]

I didn't think Podkolzin was an option and never really gave him much of a thought and was surprised when he was picks. My focus was on Zegras, Boldy and Soderstrom. Happy with Pods as he projects as a good complementary winger. Ceiling of a Hansen on steroids with a longer peak/prime which is a decent asset/value at 10.

 

[zcaptain]

We are strongest at RW

Boeser, Toffoli, Virtanen, Podkolzin, McEwen, Lind

Trade away Boeser and you still have a decent RW group

Trade him for young prospects and picks and our cap problem goes away

and IMO, we are able to fill another hole somewhere else aka RHD or LW

or both

 

[F A N]

Jesus guys it's not like this is all wild fan fiction shared on message boards and e journals.

It's reporters working for local and national media with their reputations on the line, reporting it.

If you start discrediting all the sports writers and reporters who put something out you don't like or don't want to hear soon you'll just be alone in a room hearing the echo of your own voice saying "this is fine."ignoring all reality.

Ya Botchford (RIP) reported that Hughes was a complete consensus pick, yet there are posters wanting to discredit Benning and Weisbrod who argue that they were unreasonably fixated on him as if they had had overruled the scouts. Alternatively, reports just get ignored. When Botchford reported that smart people working in the NHL thought the Canucks made the right choice in selecting Juolevi it was simply ignored by those who thought there was no justification for choosing Juolevi at the time.

Seriously though, in the era of fake news, I think you should really scrutinize your source. Those sports writers and reports you referenced aren't putting their reputations on the line the way they use to. The reality is that it can take years to develop relationships and hockey operations changes can remove previously reliable sources. Newspapers like the Vancouver Sun and Province have cut and penny pinched. Our sports radio stations like 650 have hired rookies to the Vancouver sports market.

You yourself referenced Canucks Army but you left out the fact that they didn't have access to the Canucks until the 2016-2017 season. A guy like Patrick Johnson wrote for Canucks Army when he was a teacher on call. He started writing for the Province covering the Canucks in September 2018. We are now to believe that he is well connected and what he says or writes is true? Sources should be evaluated individually and even on a case to case basis. Otherwise, the point you make suggests that Donald Trump should not be questioned because he's the President of the United States.

 

[Breakers]

I'm just glad we didnt give up this pick for Tyson Fricking Barry.

Man Oh Man. I was so nervous and anxious leading up this pick. Just refreshing twitter every 5 seconds expecting some insider to say
"I'm hearing the Vancouver pick is on the move"
then I would have lost it. Crazy anxiety.

I hope this kid turns out, I wanted Newhook as that's who I watched the most as I thought he was going to the Pioneers before he committed and went to the eagles. Him, Boldy and Krebs are going to be some beauties. Hopefully podz too.

 

[VanJack]

I remember when the knock on Horvat was his skating.....not so much anymore. Also predicting that any concerns about Podkolzin's skating in the NHL, will dissipate just as quickly.

 

[Grantham]

VanJack, with all due respect...

Bo Horvat is the outlier, not the norm. They also have completely different skating styles. Hey, I would be thrilled with this happening, but if I were a betting man I wouldn't bank on it

 

[Grantham]

I'm just glad we didnt give up this pick for Tyson Fricking Barry.

Man Oh Man. I was so nervous and anxious leading up this pick. Just refreshing twitter every 5 seconds expecting some insider to say
"I'm hearing the Vancouver pick is on the move"
then I would have lost it. Crazy anxiety.

I hope this kid turns out, I wanted Newhook as that's who I watched the most as I thought he was going to the Pioneers before he committed and went to the eagles. Him, Boldy and Krebs are going to be some beauties. Hopefully podz too.

Just curious, was there rumbling that our GM was about to trade the pick for Barrie?

Wouldn't shock me though, as we gave up Madden a 2nd for a rental (looks like anyways).

 

[Didalee Hed]

Just curious, was there rumbling that our GM was about to trade the pick for Barrie?

Wouldn't shock me though, as we gave up Madden a 2nd for a rental (looks like anyways).

Also tried to trade the Boeser pick for lucic.

 

[MS]

I remember when the knock on Horvat was his skating.....not so much anymore. Also predicting that any concerns about Podkolzin's skating in the NHL, will dissipate just as quickly.

I don't really understand the concerns with his skating at all.

His first step is iffy, but he's strong on his skates and very quick carrying the puck through the neutral zone. I think he'll be a very solid NHL skater.

Concern is hockey sense and finishing skills. 7 goals in 66 games in all competitions last year, and even if you take out the KHL it's still only 5 in 35 games against low-level men and juniors.

 

[MS]

Also tried to trade the Boeser pick for lucic.

And the Juolevi pick + Horvat for Subban.

 

[VanJack]

VanJack, with all due respect...

Bo Horvat is the outlier, not the norm. They also have completely different skating styles. Hey, I would be thrilled with this happening, but if I were a betting man I wouldn't bank on it

Podkolzin was one of the youngest players in the 2019 draft and just turned 19 a couple of weeks ago. Not only is he keeping up in the KHL, which is probably the second best pro league in the world, but by the time the playoffs rolled around he was being relied on as one of the top producers on his team.

And after coming off a strong WJC, he's already tabbed as the captain of the Russia team, assuming the tournament goes ahead in Edmonton over Xmas.

I really don't have a shred of concern that his skating won't be good enough to be a top six forward in the NHL.

 

[Didalee Hed]

And the Juolevi pick + Horvat for Subban.

It would be so Benning to have $15,000,000 tied up in those two.

 

[Grantham]

Also tried to trade the Boeser pick for lucic.

Oye....this plus the Judd to Minny news is so depressing.

We're stuck in a directionless ship.

 

[Breakers]

Just curious, was there rumbling that our GM was about to trade the pick for Barrie?

Wouldn't shock me though, as we gave up Madden a 2nd for a rental (looks like anyways).

It was a relatively loud rumor. Quite a few of the main guys did say he was being shopped on the draft floor.

Barrie got dealt i think like 7 days later to Toronto.
It's hard to do better than Colorado did in last years draft. But imagine if they got that that pick.

 

[CanucksMJL]

It sounds like he could play with us next season after the KHL is finished in April. The NHL plans to start in January, which puts April at roughly the typical trade-deadline or All-Star break time.

 

[FreeMcdavid]

It sounds like he could play with us next season after the KHL is finished in April. The NHL plans to start in January, which puts April at roughly the typical trade-deadline or All-Star break time.

There has been talk that the KHL will also be starting their season late so they might not finish in April as well.

 

[Lupuls Grit]

We are strongest at RW

Boeser, Toffoli, Virtanen, Podkolzin, McEwen, Lind

Trade away Boeser and you still have a decent RW group

Trade him for young prospects and picks and our cap problem goes away

and IMO, we are able to fill another hole somewhere else aka RHD or LW

or both

Agree. With the cap issues - short term and long term - I will be surprised if Boeser isn't traded. The team did ok without him and the future looks bright for the Top 6. As a short term measure, Jake can play in the Top 6 and they can resign Leivo for cheap.

 

[VanJack]

If Podkolzin and Hoglander work out as well as many are projecting, then suddenly the Canuks have a surplus of good, young wingers. So trading from a position of strength, to address an area of weakness makes some sense. And inevitably lands guys like Boeser and Virtanen in the trade discussion.

But the real sad thing is that if the Canucks had been able to draft or sign a couple of capable depth d-men or two, and didn't have so many 'dead-weight contracts', they wouldn't likely have to trade anyone.

And they'd easily be able to accommodate Markstrom, Tanev and Tofoli under even a flat salary cap.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Pods is close to what was expected of Virtanen when he was drafted.

Virtanen was more of a goal scorer where as Pods is more of a playmaker.

After next season, I would expect Pods to get time in the bottom 6 before working his way up.

In that light, if Boeser or Toffoli (or both) is around, I’d look to trade Virtanen this off-season if a reasonable return can be had.

 

[F A N]

I don't really understand the concerns with his skating at all.

His first step is iffy, but he's strong on his skates and very quick carrying the puck through the neutral zone. I think he'll be a very solid NHL skater.

Concern is hockey sense and finishing skills. 7 goals in 66 games in all competitions last year, and even if you take out the KHL it's still only 5 in 35 games against low-level men and juniors.

I think the concerns were related to his skating technique. He does seem to get up to speed after the first couple of steps.

 

[MS]

I think the concerns were related to his skating technique. He does seem to get up to speed after the first couple of steps.

He's not a pretty skater but he's strong and generates a ton of power in his stride. Gets around the ice, gets on guys on the forecheck, carries the puck with speed and authority. I just don't see it as an issue at all, and I'm a bit baffled that it keeps getting brought up as this 'major weakness'.

Conversely, I have concerns about his hockey sense and positioning/IQ in the offensive zone and resulting lack of production.