Canucks issue a statement on forward Vasily Podkolzin

In a post on X on Monday, the Vancouver Canucks shared a video of Russian forward Vasily Podkolzin and celebrated him as today, June 24th, is his 23rd birthday.

The Moscow native has had a tough time trying to become a regular in the National Hockey League in recent years after spending his entire rookie campaign in 2021-22 in Vancouver with the Canucks. Since then, he's bounced up and down between the NHL and AHL, appearing in 59 games in Vancouver over the last two seasons.

Podkolzin was selected tenth overall by the Canucks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and gave the Canucks an offensive threat for their prospect pool. Right out of the gate in North America he proved that to be true, scoring 14 goals as a rookie in the NHL but his best professional season came in 2023-24 with Abbotsford.

This past season with the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, Podkolzin put up 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists), 15 penalty minutes and had an even-rating. He also appeared in 19 games for the big club in Vancouver where he recorded two assists.

The 23-year-old is going to need to have a big summer preparing for the 2024-25 campaign as it's time for him to take the next step in his career and become a full-time NHLer. His first step in that direction would be by having a strong training camp and proving himself to Rick Tocchet and the coaching staff in pre-season games in September.

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