{"id":495706,"date":"2026-03-10T02:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495706\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T02:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:08:18","slug":"oilers-notes-vasily-podkolzin-has-proven-his-worth-for-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495706\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers notes: Vasily Podkolzin has proven his worth for Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Edmonton Oilers<\/a> GM Stan Bowman took a flier on Vasily Podkolzin in August of 2024, a few weeks after officially joining the team, giving up a stocking stuffer fourth-round draft pick to Vancouver, a lot of people went \u201cyeah, whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Podkolzin was spinning his wheels with the Canucks, unable to gain much traction with coach Rick Tocchet. He looked like so many first-round draft picks who needed a change of scenery, with low-bar expectations..That it was a rival basically giving away Podkolzin to the Oilers seemed odd. But, then again, Podkolzin had played just two of the Canucks\u2019 seven 2024 games in their playoff series against the Oilers few months earlier, and he got minimal ice-time.<\/p>\n

Now? Bowman should be sowing his gloats.<\/p>\n

Podkolzin scored his 15th goal Sunday in Vegas, all even-strength, one game after ripping a shot over the shoulder of Carolina goalie Fredrik Andersen from a bad angle. The goal against Adin Hill in Vegas was a second eye-opener, showing off his feet after his hands the game before. He burst between Rasmus Andersson and Jeremy Lauzon, leaving them in the starting blocks, 100 feet from the Golden Knights tender. He squeezed a shot past Hill, a worth highlight reel goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust got a couple of steps on their D, that\u2019s what happening,\u201d said Podkolzin, talking in the Oiler dressing room post-game after hitting 15 goals, the most goals he\u2019s had in a single NHL season, and his 15 ES are only one back of his centre Leon Draisaitl.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got the same 15 five-on-five goals as Dallas\u2019 winger Mikko Rantanen, if we\u2019re tossing out other stars on other teams.<\/p>\n

Maybe we\u2019ve been so caught up in Podkolzin\u2019s work along the boards, his physical strength usually alongside Draisaitl, we haven\u2019t noticed that his top speed this season is 23.11 which puts him in the 89thpercentile of NHL skaters. He\u2019s worked\u00a0on his acceleration, clearly, going from from 21.74 when the Oilers traded for him.<\/p>\n

While the Canucks gave him away basically, 31 other teams would trade for him in a heartbeat today and they would be offering up a lot more than a fourth-rounder. He\u2019s the ultimate straight-line, tough as nails player, built for the playoffs. He has 29 regular-season points and is +15. No other forward has a better plus\/minus.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to put myself in position for some good moments. Just lucky,\u201d said the self-effacing Podkolzin of his career high 15 snipes.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s tied with Lauzon for hits (190), 11th-most in the NHL. He crushed Vegas D-man Shea Theodore into the end boards in the 4-2 win in the desert around high terrific goal. New Oiler Colton Dach is 10th with 194 hits, if keeping count.<\/p>\n

Podkolzin has played the fourth most minutes (971:27) of any Oiler forward, behind Connor McDavid<\/a>, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He\u2019s third in ES forward minutes (913:15) behind 97 and 29. He\u2019s got 29 points, 28 ES, one assist on the PP.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s played a grand total of 7:05 on the PP in 64 games.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s making $1 million before his three-year extension with an AAV of $2.95 million kicks in next season. Every other veteran forward is making more than Podkolzin right now. The only every-day F making less is rookie Matt Savoie.<\/p>\n

Best bang for the buck on not just his team but pretty much every NHL team.<\/p>\n

Crushed can<\/p>\n

The Avalanche won\u2019t have captain Gabe Landeskog Tuesday against the Oilers after he took some not-so-friendly fire from teammate Cale Makar this past Friday. A Makar ripper, in a fantastic game against Dallas, hit Landeskog, who has 29 points in 47 games, in the crotch and he may be out until April.<\/p>\n

Post-game Landeskog, who also wore the C for the Swedes in the Olympics, showed off a dent in his protective cup the size of a puck.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lower-body injury and not a comfortable one. Week to week is the time frame the doctors gave us,\u201d said Avs\u2019 coach Jared Bednar.<\/p>\n

Reminded one and all of the 2016 night ex-Oilers winger Matt Hendricks, now an assistant GM with the Minnesota Wild took one in the groin from Dallas\u2019 Alex Goligoski and his cup was folded up like a beer can.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood thing that company (Nike and Russell Athletic) made a solid product, that\u2019s a vital area,\u201d kidded Hendricks afterwards. \u201cSaved my bacon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hockey game face<\/p>\n

St. Albert\u2019s Troy Murray, who passed away Saturday, was a no-holds-barred player, who made life miserable for opposing players, either checking or hitting. At the 1982 U20 world junior, where he was team captain, Murray flattened one-time Oiler Raimo Summanen in a Canada-Finland game.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy was responsible for a nickname in Finnish hockey that is still being used\u2026Raato,\u201d said fine local Finnish newspaper hockey scribe Jouni Nieminen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s \u2018Raato\u2019 as in Roadkill. He hit Raimo when Summanen wasn\u2019t expecting it and Summanen didn\u2019t get up. The other Finns started calling him Raato. And do still.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winger Summanen, who turned 64 last week, played five playoff games in 1984, the Oilers\u2019 first Cup year and had five points. After his playing career ended, he went on to become the Finnish national team coach.<\/p>\n

This \u2018n that: Brett Kulak, on his third team in the last three months, is in the third D pair for the Avs with Sam Malinski. He\u2019s averaging 17:27 a game for Colorado after the Avs traded Sam Girard to get the former Oiler defenceman. Kulak is doing a fair bit of PK work in Colorado, playing 11 minutes here in his seven games\u2026 Dach, who got his first Oilers point in Vegas, after the Chicago trade last week, deserved more than 5:05 ice time against the Golden Knights. Pretty clear he\u2019s an energy guy. Sitting on the bench for all but nine shifts, seemed counter-productive\u2026 The Avs are rolling, without not just Landeskog, but valuable support forward Arturri Lehkonen and a third winger Logan O\u2019Connor. Lehkonen, who was on Finland\u2019s Olympic team, took a puck up high in a game against Los Angeles March 2 and is out week to week\u2026 Nazem Kadri may be on RW with Nate MacKinnon and Martin Necas, rather than centre with the Oilers in Denver Tuesday\u2026 Former Oilers defenceman and current Oil Kings\u2019 player development coach Ladislav Smid will be returning his homeland next season to be the assistant coach for Sparta Prague. Smid was an assistant coach on Czechia\u2019s world junior team last season\u2026 Ex-NHLer and media personality Matt Kassian has given up his commentator gig to go and work for the Oilers. Kassian has been working for the investment firm Raymond James in the sports advisory business looking after pensions and such with retired NHL players\u2026 Oilers farmhand D Beau Akey took a knee-on-knee hit this past weekend against Tucson but it doesn\u2019t appear to be a long-term thing\u2026 Bakersfield goalie Matt Tomkins has four shutouts now, third-most in the AHL. Tampa farmhand Brett Halverson (six) and ex-Oil King and Detroit\u2019s top prospect Sebastian Cossa (five) are ahead of Tomkins\u2026 Overlooked in the Kadri trade to Colorado was Calgary picking up the negotiating rights to injured Oil Kings\u2019 centre Max Curran. Curran, who was WHL\u2019s Scholastic Player of the Year last season, is off to UMass Amherst in the fall. The Czech-born Curran, who had a big world junior for his country over the Christmas break, is out for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs with shoulder surgery \u2014 a considerable blow to the Oil Kings\u2019 playoff chances with possible matchups with both Prince Albert and Medicine Hat. The Oil Kings whipped the Tigers 6-1 Saturday and lost 4-3 to the Raiders Sunday.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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