Prospect Info: Vasili Podkolzin, Pt. III

[4Twenty]

I don’t agree that having two 19 year olds (really two 20 year olds) in the top 9 by next seasons end should be a concern.
Imo Podzolkin should be pencilled into the top 9 forwards by year end. That’s really what you should expect from a physically mature top 10 pick. By the time he comes over in March he will almost be 20 years old and will have had two years of development outside the NHL which should put him on track.
Hoglander will be 20 years old in a couple of weeks. Him making the team after only a year and a half playing outside the NHL might be more of a surprise but I think you’re going to start to see more teams bringing in young players earlier with a flat cap. That’s just the new reality imo.
The bigger issue is how the team finds room for both of them with all of the dead weight still around.

Shouldn’t Jake Virtanen’s development cause a bit of pause with regards to pencilling 19 year olds into top 9’s in the nhl. His draft spot stopped mattering the day he was picked.

I’m not saying it can’t happen but expecting two guys who are 3rd and 4th liners in lower leagues currently to step into the best league in the world seems unrealistic and hughly optimistic.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Yeah, I'm hoping that Podkolzin and Hoglander are both allowed to play full time ASAP. Both have had time to develop in mens leagues. So it takes them a couple of years, they can't be much worse than Beagle, Ferland, Ericksson, etc. At a fraction of the cost. Hopefully dimjim will not go out and overpay more UFA's to saddle this team with more anchors.

I think that Podkolzin is going to be a star for us ... so what if it takes a few years. And FFS don't over expect, and drive him away the way they did with Tryamkin.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

You're entitled to your opinion that the team has 'downgraded a fair amount' (the prevailing winds here, usually have the Canucks being a BAD team..look at last seasons predictions..?..)..

I'm more optimistic, and think that some of the younger players will be able to pull on the rope, and the young 'elite' players will kick it up another notch..

Anyway, team is far from 'dismantled'.

I actually agree that the development steps from the younger players will help compensate for the personnel losses. The issue is going to be depth and when injuries occur, how the team fares. Last season they struggled, and this season our depth is even worse (barring any surprise success stories from the prospects like Juolevi).

My prediction last year was something like "bubble team but 30% chance of making the playoffs", which I think was fair even in hindsight, given how Hughes blew away expectations, we didn't have Toffoli at that point, and the pandemic shortened season drastically changed how the season played out.

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

Shouldn’t Jake Virtanen’s development cause a bit of pause with regards to pencilling 19 year olds into top 9’s in the nhl. His draft spot stopped mattering the day he was picked.

I’m not saying it can’t happen but expecting two guys who are 3rd and 4th liners in lower leagues currently to step into the best league in the world seems unrealistic and hughly optimistic.

AS long as both players, (if given the chance) don't expect to be slotted right away into the top lines (like Tryamkin did) I think they'll be fine. Both these players seem to have good attitudes as well so seemingly no sense of entitlement. Something we definitely saw with Virtanen, who should have been left in the CHL another couple of years.

 

[4Twenty]

Yeah, I'm hoping that Podkolzin and Hoglander are both allowed to play full time ASAP. Both have had time to develop in mens leagues. So it takes them a couple of years, they can't be much worse than Beagle, Ferland, Ericksson, etc. At a fraction of the cost. Hopefully dimjim will not go out and overpay more UFA's to saddle this team with more anchors.

I think that Podkolzin is going to be a star for us ... so what if it takes a few years. And FFS don't over expect, and drive him away the way they did with Tryamkin.

He’s going to be a star....don’t over expect...nice one.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Thank you, I'm so sick of this fanbase acting like Tryamkin is some victim.

Just to touch on this whole 'the Canuck staff didn't support the Russian players' narrative...I honestly think it has more to do with the individual players personality than the fact they come from a different culture...

There's a bit of 'give and take'...you have to be willing and open to assimilate....Podkolzin seems to be more like Goldoblin in that regard (more open, and less guarded than Tryamkin)

Anyway, it would be a treat if we could have both players in the lineup next season.

 

[DonnyNucker]

Just to touch on this whole 'the Canuck staff didn't support the Russian players' narrative...I honestly think it has more to do with the individual players personality than the fact they come from a different culture...

There's a bit of 'give and take'...you have to be willing and open to assimilate....Podkolzin seems to be more like Goldoblin in that regard (more open, and less guarded than Tryamkin)

Anyway, it would be a treat if we could have both players in the lineup next season.

Tryamkin wasn’t liked by his teammates. If you aren’t popular in the room then no wonder he left. Surely the language barrier also compounded issues.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Tryamkin wasn’t liked by his teammates. If you aren’t popular in the room then no wonder he left. Surely the language barrier also compounded issues.

I wasn't aware of that.

 

[DonnyNucker]

I wasn't aware of that.

I have had multiple players and an ex Canucks coach mention this (not Willy). The theme is primarily an entitlement issue and a poor work ethic

 

[F A N]

The fact of the matter is that on the one hand NHL players aren't treated like kids and shouldn't be treated like kids. On the other hand, some of these players really do need some help to get acclimatized if other players don't help them. That's just life. You get more "support" as an international undergraduate student than an international graduate student.

The Sedins were known to take players under their wing. When Petey got here Louie took Dahlen and him out for dinner before they went to Penticton. Tanev had Hughes, Petey, and Brock over at his place often. When Tanev was breaking in, he was at Hamhuis' place often. When Sergachev was traded to TB he got a text from Kucherov offering to help. That type of camaraderie is difficult to replace by management. That's why it's considered important to have veteran leadership as well as having a similarly aged group that "grew up together."

Obviously, things didn't work as well for Tryamkin here as it could have been. Maybe somebody on the Canucks should have made a greater effort in inviting Tryamkin and his wife into his home. Perhaps help him find a place that doesn't reek of pot. Explain the concept of fighting after a big hit to him.

 

[VanJack]

All the touchy-feely dinner invitations in the world from fellow team-mates wouldn't have kept Tryamkin in Vancouver as long as the team was coached by Willie. It's too bad they hadn't canned him before Tryamkin bolted for the KHL.

 

[ChilliBilly]

He’s going to be a star....don’t over expect...nice one.

Great - change the intent of what i was saying to fit your narrative.

I think he's going to be a star, but its not going to be over night. give him a couple of years.

 

[4Twenty]

Great - change the intent of what i was saying to fit your narrative.

I think he's going to be a star, but its not going to be over night. give him a couple of years.

It was just funny how you wrote it. I think he’ll be a fan favourite Burrows type in time.

 

[GetFocht]

'Dismantling the team' is hyperbole...We could only keep one goalie, and they were not going to give Tanev a retirement contract..both players were replaced, one was an upgrade.

The essential core players are still here,...losing Toffoli and Stecher are not backbreakers by any means...

Are you a proponent of 'you'll never win anything with the kids"..?

I bet Holtby will perform just as well as Markstrom under Clark. Holtby isn't that old for a goalie, he's a former Vezina winner and won a cup two years ago as the starter.

People also like to think Schmidt is a lateral move lmao, this is a first pairing defenceman on a Stanley Cup contending team that eats tough minutes while producing 30+ points. The Canucks got a 20-25 minute defenceman that will play on the first pair.

Toffoli isn't a core player and Stecher is a 6th D.

 

[VanJack]

Wow! Craig Button just unloaded on the KHL during his segment with Sekeras and Price on TSN 1040.....mandatory listening for fans of the Canucks and Podkolzin.

Basically says the KHL is lackluster league lacking in intensity and that's probably one of the reasons for Podkolzin's ice time has dwindled. His hell-bent, intense style on every shift is making some of his teammates and his coaches look bad. Pretty damning stuff.

 

[Diversification]

Wow! Craig Button just unloaded on the KHL during his segment with Sekeras and Price on TSN 1040.....mandatory listening for fans of the Canucks and Podkolzin.

Basically says the KHL is lackluster league lacking in intensity and that's probably one of the reasons for Podkolzin's ice time has dwindled. His hell-bent, intense style on every shift is making some of his teammates and his coaches look bad. Pretty damning stuff.

LOL. Button was channeling his inner Don Cherry. And I mean that in the best possible way. Interesting that he compared him with Jere Lehtinen. Allow me to throw in another comparison in the same mold and the same era: Magnus Arvedson.

 

[Fatass]

LOL. Button was channeling his inner Don Cherry. And I mean that in the best possible way. Interesting that he compared him with Jere Lehtinen. Allow me to throw in another comparison in the same mold and the same era: Magnus Arvedson.

Pods size and skill reminds me of Alexander Yakushev.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Button: "if Podkolzin can't play i'm getting out of the business".
Safe to say he's a believer.

 

[Fedz]

Pods size and skill reminds me of Alexander Yakushev.

C'mon...Yakushev is a legend. If Pod becomes 1/10 of what Yakushev was, we'll all be thrilled.

Yakushev scored 34 goals in 44 games as a 19 year old and as a 24 year old he was a goal a game scorer in the '72 summit series.

Let's temper our expectations a bit here..

 

[Blue and Green]

Yakushev was a totally different kind of player. He parked himself at the edge of the crease and scored a pile of goals from there; didn't do a whole lot otherwise. Podkolzin appears to be much more of a two-way force but without Yakushev's world-class ability to put the puck in the net.

 

[sting101]

Yakushev? What next Frank Mahovlich comps

 

[VanJack]

Podkolzin will step right into the Canucks lineup, whenever that day arrives. You really can't ask for much more from any first round draft pick.

 

[CanucksMJL]

Podkolzin will step right into the Canucks lineup, whenever that day arrives. You really can't ask for much more from any first round draft pick.

You're right. But that won't stop us!! Muahahaha

 

[Rumsfeld]

I'm hoping this kid can become a Burrows-type heart and soul guy. Relentless puck hound, elite penalty killer, clutch in big games.

Obviously very different players, but role-wise that would be pretty great.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Imagine if Podkolzin chirps Chatfield at a bar and Chatfield one punches him out....Chatfield becomes the new Bieska