Edmonton Oilers' Podkolzin is looking good during offseason training
There will be a lot of eyes on Edmonton Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin this upcoming season.
The 25-year-old Russian is coming off a career year with the Oilers last season, notching 19 goals and 37 points while playing all 82 games. Podkolzin followed that up with a monster first-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, where he put up three goals and six points through six games.
Expectations going into the 2025-26 season are that Podkolzin can take yet another step forward to help cement a top-six role with Edmonton. It won’t be an easy task for the former first-round pick, but it appears he is putting in the necessary work this summer to help his chances.
Podkolzin has been training with Serbian NHL skills coach Ned Lukacevic this offseason, and he is looking more than ready for the upcoming season.
#Oilers fan favourite Vasily Podkolzin has been training with Serbian NHL skills coach Ned Lukacevic this summer, and he's looking good.
The 25-year-old seems to be in midseason form from these videos on Lukacevic's Instagram pic.twitter.com/Wrov7upg2D
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) August 12, 2026
It looks like Podkolzin hasn’t missed a step and is moving pretty well on the ice. This isn’t the first time that the young Russian has worked with Lukacevic, having done so last summer as well.
It’s clear that the pair seem to have some sort of chemistry, as Podkolzin has improved every year with the Oilers since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2024.
It wasn’t all skating and shooting drills, however, as Lukacevic also had Podkolzin working on his play along the boards. That is an area of his game that he seems to excel at, but he is putting an effort in to get even better ahead of the new season.
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Podkolzin is set to embark on a three-year contract extension with Edmonton this season, and the Oilers are hoping that the $8.85-million deal will look like a steal sooner rather than later.