Quote:
Originally Posted by Mass_nerder
What's up with podkolzin? His draft profile suggested he should go anywhere from top 3 to low 1st round, then he was picked at 10, and has okay, but not great stats in the AHL.
Is he just not getting the opportunities to really produce? Or is he just a bottom 6 guy?
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He was considered to be the consensus top 5 pick for much of his pre-draft year, but the Russian factor spooked A LOT of teams.
He is an NHL ready player with really good basic offensive skills, like he doesn't bring much flash but he makes great passes and has a decent shot. He's not going to do anything fancy, but the puck goes in.
His biggest issue has been development. After getting drafted and stating his plans to go to the NHL, his Russian team essentially dumped him. He was playing at tiers below where he should have been with players he should not be playing with. That year at the WJC, he looked like a men among boys. After he got to Vancouver he ended up being forced to the NHL and playing bottom six minutes. With Green he was in the dog house. With Boudreau he took Hoglander's place when Boudreau didn't seem to think much of Hoggy. Then Tocchet got here, said "WTF is this?" and sent them both to the AHL to work on the professional game while also having the opportunity to play a top line role and put up points.
This year he started like a bat out of hell before a dirty hit put him in the hospital for a time. After coming back, he was slow to get going again and is only now starting to heat up again.