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Vasily Podkolzin will be getting a taste of playoff hockey soon, it just may not be with the Vancouver Canucks.
Head coach Rick Tocchet suggested today that the team could send him down to get some playoff experience with the Abbotsford Canucks.
“If he doesn’t play tonight, he’s a guy that will go play a game and then we can always have him come back because of the rules. He’s definitely got to go play a game, for sure, and we’ve talked about that,” said the head coach today.
“I think it’s important that he plays some game in a playoff style which could be Abbotsford.”
The Abbotsford Canucks have qualified for the AHL’s Pacific Division Semi-Finals. They’re playing against the Ontario Reign. The series starts on May 1 in Ontario and the first home game for the Canucks will be on May 8.
The 22-year-old is a proven playoff performer. He scored 11 points in 16 games during the 2020-21 KHL Playoffs, right after he had managed the same number of points in 35 regular season games.
He also scored two points in two games across two AHL playoff games during the 2021-22 postseason.
While with the big club, Podkolzin has often been the first one on the ice at practice and game-day skates. Head coach Rick Tocchet, or one of the assistant coaches, will join on the ice and put him through drills.
Rick Tocchet and Vasily Podkolzin putting in some work before practice. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/gvlsX5S3tz
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) April 27, 2024
“Short term, I think it’s great,” said Tocchet about the benefits of being around during this playoff run. “But he’s not playing for weeks at a time, he’s got to get some games in.”
Podkolzin’s last professional hockey game was on April 18 against the Winnipeg Jets. It’s been nearly two weeks since he’s seen any live game action.
The Russian winger has 15 goals and 28 points in 44 AHL games this season. While he managed just two assists in 19 NHL games, there were some encouraging signs of development.