Due to a bad development curve, Podkolzin’s game lost its liveliness and he began to play stiff, systems-first hockey. What became of his pledge?
Perhaps a sobering reminder about 10th overall draft picks was all we really needed to know about Vasily Podkolzin.
None of this should have come as a surprise, despite all the mystery and fanfare surrounding the Russian’s selection in 2019 and the disappointment surrounding his performance as a Canadian.
As it happens, the threshold for a tenth pick isn’t that high.
In a group conversation after Sunday’s trade with the Oilers, Roxy Fever podcast host Jackson McDonald mentioned that Podkolzin ranks 46th in terms of career games played out of the 61 players who have ever been picked with the 10th overall pick in NHL history.
However, that doesn’t imply you can’t find a player in position 10. Relative success has a low bar. That’s it. In 2019, Matt Boldy was the obvious alternative and a rising star.
I should have landed, Podkolzin. He enjoyed a successful pre-draft season. He performed the Hlinka well. In the World Jr. A Challenge, he excelled. He performed well at the World Juniors. He had participated in professional VHL and even KHL hockey.
He attacked the net without hesitation. He was not intimidated by the lane’s defenders.
Where had this player gone, then? How come he’s not a Vancouver Canuck anymore?
The SKA issueFirstly, there was the contract that Podkolzin was bound by at the time of his draft. He was to play two more years in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This was widely recognized.
It’s thought that it made a few teams shy away from him. One of the issues was not being able to manage his development for two whole years.
And looking back, they were correct.
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