The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the Ottawa Senators’ 2025 fourth-round pick. Edmonton acquired the pick alongside Roby Jarventie earlier this summer, in exchange for sending Ottawa forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson.
The timing of this deal can’t be ignored. Edmonton recently received two offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues, who are looking to steal away forward Dylan Holloway and defender Philip Broberg. The pair of offer sheets totals $6.87M — a very difficult pill to swallow for an Oilers team already $8.225M over the cap ceiling, not including potential long-term injured reserve. While an Oilers trade seemed imminent, this swap is far from what many were expecting — as Edmonton reels in a former top prospect and potential Holloway replacement.
If Podkolzin truly donns that title is yet to be seen. He proved a controversial pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, rounding out what was a loaded top 10 after fighting his way into KHL ice time. Podkolzin stayed in Russia for two seasons after his draft selection, continuing to grow in a KHL role before moving directly into a middle-six role with the Canucks in 2021. He was productive as a rookie, appearing in 79 games and managing 14 goals and 26 points. But he’s struggled to hold onto that scoring in the years since, totaling just nine points across his last 58 NHL games. That belabored production has earned Podkolzin the first AHL games of his career, to some success. He’s scored 46 points in 72 minor-league games over the last two seasons – enough to earn routine call-ups back to the NHL, but not enough to inspire much excitement.
But that could be set to change in Edmonton. Podkozlin flaunted plenty of skill during his brief KHL career but struggled to instill much tempo into the offense. That’s perhaps the thing the Oilers do best, largely thanks to just how talented Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins bring to the table. Holloway wasn’t getting much ice time with those superstars as he looked to establish his footing in the NHL, but Edmonton has shown a preference for icing shoot-first bruisers, like Connor Brown or Klim Kostin, with McDavid. Podkolzin stands at a similar frame to Holloway but has built a bit more of a knack for physicality as he’s cut his teeth in the minor leagues. A move to the Oilers offense will represent a chance to start over – potentially filling the shoes of a departing Dylan Holloway.
