Oilers' Trade For Vasily Podkolzin Continues To Work Wonders With Breakout Season

The Edmonton Oilers acquiring Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks during the 2024 NHL off-season continues to look like the right call with his breakout season.Despite a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Oilers are at the top of the Western Conference standings with an 8-2-1 record and 17 points. In other words, Edmonton has been very good to kick off the campaign.A big reason for the Oilers' success early on this season has undoubtedly been the dominant play of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard. However, right winger Vasily Podkolzin has been a very nice surprise for the Oilers and is emerging as one of their most important forwards. In 11 games so far this season with the Oilers, Podkolzin has posted seven goals and 12 points, as well as leading the club with 42 hits. With numbers like these, Podkolzin is not only making a major impact with his physicality but also offensively.Related storiesPodkolzin's great start to this season comes after he set career highs with 19 goals, 18 assists, and 37 points in 82 games for Edmonton last season. However, with the way he is playing right now, he is on pace to blow those previous numbers out of the water.Even if Podkolzin slows down as this season carries on, there is no question that the Oilers made an amazing decision trading for him ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Oilers only gave up a 2025 fourth-round pick to land him from the Vancouver Canucks. With that, this is easily one of GM Stan Bowman's top moves with the Oilers so far. Sure, Podkolzin is benefiting from playing on a line with McDavid and Draisaitl. However, the 25-year-old forward has shown since his arrival that he can be an impactful power forward in the NHL. The 2019 10th overall pick is now taking his game to a new level, and it's only making Edmonton's decision to trade for him look even better.It will now be interesting to see how Podkolzin performs as this campaign rolls on. He is not showing too many signs of slowing down right now, as he has two goals and five points in his last six games. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.