Podkolzin looks to be Canucks' latest eyebrow-raising scratch
Bruce Boudreau could be set to scratch another one of his young Vancouver Canucks forward.
Vasili Podkolzin, who has two assists this season, looks like he could be the odd-forward out when the Canucks host the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on Saturday night.
Looks like Vasily Podkolzin might be a healthy scratch tonight. #Canucks @Sportsnet650
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 5, 2022
Podkolzin rotated through the Canucks’ fourth line at the morning skate, according to reports, swapping places with Dakota Joshua on the left side of Nils Ă…man and Jack Studnicka.
The 21-year-old has averaged 13:19 of ice time in 11 games.
He’d join Nils Höglander and Conor Garland as controversial scratches this season.
The Canucks have craved more production out of Podkolzin, the No. 10 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 90 games over parts of two seasons with Vancouver.
Garland talked about playing on a line with Pearson after morning skate, so expect Höglander to play on the Horvat line today.
See below for how they practiced yesterday. Boeser and Podkolzin the likely forward scratches. #Canucks @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/pbso1B8Phb
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 5, 2022
Each of his 14 goals came over 79 games as a rookie in 2021-22.
He had five points over the first 21 games of his season last year, but finished with nine points over an eight-game stretch of April to close out the campaign.
The Canucks are 3-6-2 and sit tied for sixth in the Pacific Division with the San Jose Sharks at eight points. Vancouver ranks 27th overall in the league with a .364 winning percentage, and is 29th league-wide with a 4.09 goals-against average.
The team is, however, ninth in the NHL with 3.45 goals scored per game, and ranks 10th on the power play at 23.1%.
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