When the Vancouver Canucks gave up on former 10th overall pick Vasily Podkolzin, few thought the decision would come back to haunt them.
The 6-foot-1 power forward had been given multiple opportunities and while there were some encouraging signs, he hadn’t established himself at the highest level. Fast forward to the present day and while the deal is not a glaring error, it’s looking more and more like Canucks management may have traded the wrong young winger.
The Canucks shipped Podkolzin to the Edmonton Oilers right before the season started. While many expected the Russian forward to struggle to get ice time with his new team, as he had in Vancouver, that has not been the case.
The 23-year-old has been a fixture in the Oilers’ top six since his arrival. He’s been playing a ton with Leon Draisaitl and has six goals and 18 points in 45 games. While his numbers aren’t incredible, especially considering he’s stapled to Draisaitl’s side, he’s quickly becoming a fan favourite with his new team and still has the potential to grow.
🗣️PODZ‼️
Vasily Podkolzin’s goal, assist, 2 blocks & 2 hits in the #Oilers 4-3 victory vs. Chicago is the WD-40 Next Level Performance of the Week! pic.twitter.com/3eUKwKdBbi
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 15, 2025
The Canucks didn’t need to trade Podkolzin. While his path to making the opening-night roster was difficult, that was a self-inflicted problem the Canucks created by adding multiple bottom-six wingers in free agency. They had Podkolzin under contract at $1 million and still signed Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong, and Kiefer Sherwood.
If the Canucks really felt they had to do something about their logjam at winger — a premise that doesn’t hold much weight today considering Phil Di Giuseppe is back in the top six — they should’ve picked another one of their promising young wingers: Nils Höglander.
Höglander scored 24 goals last season all at even-strength. He had significant trade value but much of it has evaporated as he’s experienced a nightmare season. While hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to say he should’ve been the one traded now, there were signs his breakout season wasn’t sustainable.
The Swedish forward shot 20% last season, nearly twice what he’d managed in any other season. That number has cratered down to 7.7% and his goal total has predictably dropped with it.
Höglander’s value was near its peak before the season while Podkolzin’s was quite low after spending another year bouncing between the NHL and AHL. The team opted to deal Podkolzin when it would’ve been a much savvier move to deal the soaring player.
If the Canucks had traded Höglander instead of Podkolzin before the season started, they could have brought in a solid defenceman, which would’ve addressed a significant team need. The defence corps has held the Canucks back this year and is a huge reason they’re currently on the outside looking in.
Alternatively, the team could’ve kept both of their young wingers and skipped signing one of the many bottom-six forwards they acquired during the summer such as Heinen, Sprong, or Sherwood, although the last has been excellent this year.
It’s impossible to rewrite history and easy to say what the Canucks should’ve done now looking back. Still, there were signs that trading Podkolzin at his lowest value while holding onto Höglander coming off a fortunate season was not the right decision.
It’s been just a few months and it will take years for the full effects of the trade to reveal themselves, but the early returns likely have the Canucks wishing for a do-over.