It’s been a frustrating start to the season for Edmonton Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin, but he finally found a way to put the puck in the net on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old Russian netted his first goal as a member of the Oilers in his 22nd game with the club. It was a nice one as he wired home a feed from Leon Draisaitl in the slot that went over the shoulder of Jonathan Quick.
You can tell by the celebration after the fact that a weight was lifted off of Podkolzin’s chest.
PUCK GOES IN‼️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/kWS6dZIuR9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 24, 2024
It was a great shot and an even better pass from Draisaitl to set things up for Podkolzin. After the game, Draisaitl was asked about the young Russian’s play this season where he praised Podkolzin’s game and work ethic.
“He’s a really, really good hockey player,” Draisaitl told reporters after the game. “He’s really underrated and does a lot of things that go unnoticed… obviously very happy for him to get on the board, he’s had plenty of looks and hopefully this opens the floodgates a little bit.
“He’s really smart, and he passes the puck extremely well. He makes the right plays almost every single time… He gets in on the forecheck; he’s hard to play against.”
“If you’re not putting them in or capitalizing on your looks then analytics are no good. Hopefully this opens the floodgates a little bit more consistently for us.”
Leon Draisaitl on the #Oilers having strong underlying numbers this season.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/HEQ35ubSy9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 24, 2024
For Podkolzin, he told reporters after the game that it was a big relief to finally end a scoring drought that was at 44 games extending into last season. He also gave some insight on what teammates like Draisaitl have been telling him throughout the season after games.
“He tells me after almost every game, ‘Keep going, everything is good, work hard, and this stuff will come,’” Podkolzin said. “Finally I scored and I gotta score more.”
“That’s tough, but sometimes you need this challenge in your life to be a better hockey player. You just be patient, keep working & try to think positive.”
Vasily Podkolzin on his mindset while playing through a scoring drought that ended tonight.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/8Y5IZewXL3
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 24, 2024
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch revealed that this was the perfect time for Podkolzin to score his first as his parents have been in town for the last three weeks and were set to leave on Sunday. This meant that he was able to share this moment with his family after the game.
“What’s really nice about tonight is that his parents have been here for about three weeks. Tonight was their last night here, they’re leaving tomorrow.”
Coach Knoblauch on Vasily Podkolzin scoring his first goal in Blue & Orange. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/l2EYZX1nd2
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 24, 2024
The hope is that now, with the monkey off his back, Podkolzin can start to find the net on a more regular basis.