Vasily Podkolzin blames the Canucks for his late development
Canucks forward Vasily Podkolzin says he needs more trust and ice time in Vancouver next season.
It's been a tough couple of seasons for Vancouver Canucks forward Vasily Podkolzin as he's found himself primarily in the American Hockey League, along with a few stints with the big club in the NHL.
The former first-round pick spent the entirety of his rookie campaign in the NHL with the Canucks in 2021-22 but in the two years since, hasn't been able to stick, only appearing in 58 games for Vancouver in the last couple of seasons.
Podkolzin feels that he's ready to make the jump to the National Hockey League on a full-time basis and in an interview with Russian media outlet Match TV said that he needs more trust in Vancouver, as well as more ice time.
The Moscow native says that he hops to prepare well this off-season, return to Vancouver before the start of training camp and play good hockey to ensure he'll be on the NHL roster, hopefully to start the 2024-25 NHL season.
Note: the quotes in this story are translated from Russian.
In 2023-24, Podkolzin had the best season offensively since making the jump to North America and that alone should show the Canucks coaching staff and management that he's ready for the next step. In 44 games with the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, Podkolzin had 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists), 28 penalty minutes and had an even-rating. He also appeared in 19 games in the NHL for Vancouver, registering two assists.
We'll have to wait and see what the start of the season brings for Vasily Podkolzin, but if he's able to have a strong training camp and good performances during pre-season games, then there's certainly a chance he could be on the opening night roster.
Source: Match TV
Podkolzin explained why Kuzmenko had problems in Vancouver
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