Podkolzin reveals hilarious detail about Edmonton Oilers' slow start
Edmonton Oilers fans may have been panicking about the team’s slow start to the season, but it doesn’t appear the players were all that bothered.
It was a tense October for the Oilers as they opened up the season 0-3-0 and once again had a poor start to the season. Concerns were swirling that the team would repeat their awful start from the year prior, which wound up getting head coach Jay Woodcroft fired.
A media circus ensued with players being bombarded with questions about that fact, but according to Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin, the team’s brightest stars weren’t the least bit concerned with the slow start.
The Russian forward dished on some behind-the-scenes action in the dressing room in an interview with Russian outlet Vseprosport.
“I didn’t have a very good feeling,” Podkolzin admitted in a translated version of the interview. “Then I started looking at others, and everyone around was so calm. They told me, ‘Yes, we always start like this, last year it was even worse.'”
Podkolzin’s Oilers teammates are right about last season being much worse. The 2023-24 Oilers had a brutal 2-9-1 start through the first 12 games of the season, compared to the team’s 6-5-1 record through the same amount of games this season.
The team has also found a way to recover from the disappointing start. The Oilers now sit tied for fifth in the NHL with a sparkling 27-13-3 record and are just four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
That wasn’t the only tidbit that Podkolzin revealed in the interview. He also said he and McDavid went out to supper in Dallas and was taken aback by the Oilers captain’s post-meal beverage.
“I was surprised that he once ordered tea for dinner. We sat and drank tea,” Podkolzin said. “They bring little teapots, you could try several types. I donāt remember drinking tea in the evening before that.”
It’s safe to say the peculiar tea incident hasn’t changed Podkolzin’s admiration for his captain. The former first-round pick went on to make a few bold predictions about McDavid’s career, as well as a projection for his next contract.
“I think he will score 2,000 points,” Podkolzin boldly proclaimed. “Now he will sign an eight-year contract, and then another eight.”
Oilers fans have quickly embraced the hardworking Podkolzin, who has been rewarded with plenty of ice time next to Leon Draisaitl. If his predictions about McDavid ring true, fans will only like him that much more.