Oilers' Podkolzin laughs off AHL fight with Lavoie: "We're good"
It may only be the second day of training camp for the Edmonton Oilers, but at least one beef between two players has been squashed.
Vasily Podkolzin hit the ice for his first training camp with Oilers since being traded to the team from the Vancouver Canucks over the summer. The young Russian forward was a part of the first group of Edmonton players to participate in camp and was skating on a line with NHL veterans Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.
He was also sharing the ice with Raphael Lavoie, who he had quite a spirited fight against in the AHL last season. Daily Hive brought this up to Podkolzin after practice, to which the former first-round pick laughed.
“That’s probably the greatest thing in hockey, how crazy life can turn,” Podkolzin laughed. “We didn’t really talk about it, it’s part of hockey, they wanted to win, I wanted to win… We’re good.”
"This city's special to me because I was here for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup & World Juniors & my first NHL game was here."
Vasily Podkolzin met with #Oilers media for the first time since being acquired in August.@Enterpirse | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/VSdCpXoP9n
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 19, 2024
It was quite a heavyweight fight between the two and, despite the six-foot-one Podkolzin having the size disadvantage against the six-foot-four Lavoie, the young Russian held his own during the battle. Some could even say that he came out as the victor.
He won’t be saying that, however.
“He did probably more hits than me, but like I think we do half,” Podkolzin said, which got a big laugh from reporters. “That’s what I think, ask him!”
Podkolzin seems to be getting a spot on the team’s fourth line to start camp. He mentioned that he is excited to have a fresh start in Edmonton, a city he told reporters already holds a special place in his heart.
“This city is special for me,” Podkolzin said. “My first NHL game [was] here… Big history and some big names on our team. Just great to be around.”
It also helps that he will no longer have to play against the likes of Connor McDavid and he did admit that Rogers Place can be an intimidating place for opposing players to play due to the rabid fan base.
Podkolzin also made sure to point out that he won’t mind adjusting from the nice warm winters of Vancouver over to the frigid Edmonton winter season.
“I’m from Russia, I don’t really care.”