How Podkolzin has improved and where he fits with Canucks going forward

Vasily Podkolzin looked lost last season. 

A player searching for answers in the dark, he was plagued by indecision. Devoid of confidence, overthinking every puck touch, Podkolzin was doing everything but operating through his hockey sense. It was abundantly clear that the 22-year-old Vancouver Canucks winger needed a reset.

Enter the 2023-24 hockey season. 

With a glut of depth on the wing at the season’s start, Podkolzin was sent down to the Abbotsford Canucks before the NHL season even started, with the goal of reigniting the talent that was selected 10th overall just four years earlier.

Flash forward to the present day, and Podkolzin looks like a player who has returned to form. Despite a terrifying head injury earlier in the season, a more translatable and useful player is starting to emerge.  

By the numbers

It’s fair to question that assessment. At first glance, Podkolzin’s AHL point production is pedestrian, considering his professional experience in the NHL and KHL. 

Averaging around 17 minutes per game, the Russian forward has only put together 27 points across 42 games with Abbotsford this season. 

The reality is that despite Abbotsford being a top-11 team in goals, the environment hasn’t been kind for an overabundance of point production. Not a single player on the team cracks the top-25 in scoring across the league. 

It’s clear that after watching Podkolzin’s tape, it isn’t a lack of chances that is the issue. 

Failing to cash despite strong pass support habits

One of the defining characteristics of Podkolzin’s game has been his ability to find soft areas of the ice, setting up as a clear pass target for his linemates. 

He hustles into high-danger scoring areas, sneaks behind defenders, and times activations based on the puck carriers’ actions. It’s a combination of the winger’s hard skill and hockey sense that allows him to be an effective off-puck supporter. Give-and-go passing plays are littered throughout his tape. 

Podkolzin’s execution off these activations is another story, unfortunately. Operating at a shooting percentage of around 10%, he has struggled to bury the puck on these grade-A chances. Podkolzin’s puck placements and shot accuracy off of his one-touch shots have tormented him. 

In a sense, failing to score off these chances is a better problem to have than not getting them at all, but the NHL is a league of execution and shooting off the pass is an area Podkolzin is still working to rein in. 

Power game

Podkolzin is having success in other areas, however.

He is much more of a power forward than he ever has been in his career, and outside drives into crease-crashing shot opportunities are a more regular occurrence. 

While still not a mechanically refined skater, Podkolzin has learned to be a high-frequency one. He recognizes early opportunities to drive, builds proactive speed by pumping his feet wildly, manipulates neutral zone defenders, and is now able to force a pivot. Leading with his knee, dropping a shoulder, and cutting on his edges, Podkolzin is driving more pucks into the crease than he ever has.  

Crashing on the forecheck

Similarly, Podkolzin’s effort level has been excellent. He crashes hard on the end boards, targeting sticks, dislodging pucks, and forcing bad decisions by executing on the same dump-and-chase system that the Canucks’ NHL and AHL teams employ. 

Defensive effort

The most impressive area of his game is on the other side of the puck. Podkolzin’s pressure pushing when facing sustained defensive zone pressure is ridiculous. He’s aggressive, funnels puck carriers to the outside and punishes players on the perimeter. 

His motor, especially on the back-check, is high end. The same high-frequency stride allows him to close space, poke unprotected pucks away, and drive opponents into the sideboards. The effort to support his defenders is something else. 

Simplified offence

Already playing a more straightforward off-puck game with forecheck and power elements sprinkled throughout, Podkozin’s offence, in general, is more simplified. 

He’s tasked as a one-time shooter off the right-hand circle on the power play, leveraging the power of his shot to blow pucks by AHL goaltenders. Whether this is translatable is murky — he won’t get these opportunities at higher levels. At the very least, the opportunity has allowed him more opportunities to convert — regaining his scoring touch, a major goal of his demotion. 

Podkolzin has always been a talented playmaker, and that hasn’t changed. Again, execution is his biggest hurdle, but Podkolzin’s ideas and habits remain excellent. Manipulating with his eyes, hooking and slipping pucks and layers through bodies, he ties it all together by finding the most dangerous option. Notably, he isn’t overpassing, a legitimate problem he’s had over the past few seasons. 

What is the plan?

Podkolzin’s development represents an interesting challenge and a potential solution for the Canucks franchise. With depth pieces likely pricing themselves off the NHL club at the conclusion of this season, the Canucks will need cheap, effective options to take their place. With his defensive profile, forechecking value, and off-puck play leading the way, Podkolzin could be that player. 

Look to Nils Höglander last season. Despite only scoring 32 points across 45 AHL games last season, the Swede was the same age, in the same situation, and came out better for it. 

Even if Podkolzin’s upward ceiling is more of a middle-six quantity, that is valuable for a team looking to stay competitive. With his profile always being one of raw talent, stacking more ability wouldn’t be out of the question. In any case, this is a player who is playing more instinctually and seems to be finding the light at the end of the tunnel.  

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