Vasily Podkolzin turned himself into a real piece for the Edmonton Oilers last season. The winger spent plenty of time in the top six, skating with either Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid, and he made the most of it with a career-high 19 goals and 37 points in 82 games.
The bigger question now is simple: is there more in there?
That’s the conversation around Podkolzin heading into the new season. Edmonton didn’t just get a useful forward out of him; they got a player who looked far more comfortable in a top-six role than he had at any point before.
Podkolzin’s path to this point has been uneven. Vancouver picked him 10th overall in the 2019 draft after he put together a strong rookie season, one that included 14 goals and 26 points in 79 games. The production dropped hard after that, though, as he managed just four goals and nine points over his next 58 games.
The Canucks moved on before the 2024 draft, and the Oilers took the swing on a former high pick looking for a reset. In 2024-25, Podkolzin posted eight goals and 24 points in 82 games, then added three goals and 10 points in 22 postseason games.
This past season was the one where it really clicked. At 25, he looked like a legitimate top-six forward for the first time in his career, and he was also Edmonton’s best player during its short 2026 playoff run, finishing with three goals and six points in six games. He even dropped the late fight in Game 3.
Beyond the scoring, Podkolzin brought the kind of edge coaches love. He stepped in after big hits, did the dirty work for the skill guys, and kept making himself useful in the small moments that don’t always show up on the scoresheet.
That’s why the ceiling question is still alive. Podkolzin is a power forward, and players in that mold often need time before everything comes together. In his age-24 season, he finally started to look like the player Vancouver believed it was getting at No. 10 overall.
There’s a realistic path to even bigger numbers if the scoring keeps climbing. If he stays locked onto a line with McDavid or Draisaitl, 25 goals and 50 points is in play. If he duplicates the way he produced in the brief 2026 playoff run, he could go even higher.
Getting there will mean finding more offense, especially because he doesn’t appear to have top power-play duty coming his way. That puts a lot of the burden on his five-on-five game, unless Edmonton chooses to spread the man-advantage minutes around more than it has in recent years.
That idea fits the broader belief around the Oilers’ new staff, too. One common thread in the hiring of Mike Babcock and D.J.
Smith is the push to squeeze more out of the full lineup, not just the stars. Podkolzin looks like one of the players who could benefit most from that approach.
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Now the question is less about why Edmonton committed and more about how the deal looks in hindsight as the roster has changed around it. Nurse remains a significant piece of the Oilers identity, but the outside chatter about whether he could ever be moved shows how complicated those long-term bets can become when performance, cap space and team needs stop lining up the way they once did. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Look Like A Real Threat In Jason Robertson Sweepstakes
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That is where the conversation starts to matter for Edmonton, which already has the kind of top-end talent that makes any elite scorer hard to ignore. If Dallas ever gets to the point of entertaining a move at the 2027 trade deadline, the Oilers would be one of the teams worth watching closely, especially with the possibility of fitting another star into a group built around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Prospects Just Gave Fans Another Reason To Watch World Juniors
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For Edmonton fans, it was the kind of summer event worth tracking beyond the usual prospect curiosity. Barnett, Cameron and Lafreniere each drew attention with notable showings as they tried to strengthen their cases for their national teams at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. With that tournament set for Alberta, the Oilers could have a few familiar names in the spotlight when the real stakes arrive. [Read more 🡒]