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How Vasily Podkolzin has emerged into Leon Draisaitl’s go-to winger
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Photo credit: © Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
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Dec 28, 2025, 13:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 28, 2025, 14:32 EST
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Throughout the past two regular seasons at five-on-five, Leon Draisaitl’s most common forward linemate has not been Connor McDavid. It has not been Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Zach Hyman either. Instead, the forward who has most often ridden shotgun with the 2025 Rocket Richard winner is Vasily Podkolzin.
The Edmonton Oilers initially brought in Podkolzin in August 2024 from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2025 fourth‑round pick, just five days after Dylan Holloway signed an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues and two days before Edmonton ultimately chose not to match it. Though the acquisition of Podkolzin—a young left-winger much like Holloway—was intended to shore up Edmonton’s forward depth following Holloway’s departure, expectations for Podkolzin weren’t exactly high.
Podkolzin was initially drafted 10th overall by the Canucks in the 2019 NHL Draft, but he never wound up being an impact player for Vancouver. In his final year with the Canucks organization, Podkolzin had just two points in 19 NHL games, as he spent the majority of that season with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. And even in the AHL, Podkolzin’s production wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring, as he posted 28 points in 44 games. As a result, not many expected Podkolzin to be much more than a depth player at best, and he began the 2024-25 season on Edmonton’s fourth line.
But, as usual, the Oilers did not have a strong start to that season, particularly highlighted by early struggles from free-agent winger signings Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. After posting strong underlying possession numbers in the bottom-six, Podkolzin was promoted to the second line on Leon Draisaitl’s wing by the end of October. And although Kris Knoblauch is notorious for his constant line-shuffling, the Podkolzin-Draisaitl combo has become his second-most-used forward pairing since then, only trailing McDavid-Hyman.
At a glance, Podkolzin’s production rates may not exactly scream “top-six winger.” In total, Podkolzin has put up 40 points in 120 games with Edmonton, roughly equating to a 27-point pace over a full 82-game season. For someone spending so much time flanking Leon Draisaitl, one would expect a lot more.
However, the value Podkolzin provides goes beyond just raw point totals. The easiest way to see this is by merely glancing at Draisaitl’s five-on-five results with and without Podkolzin at centre:
Draisaitl has played about 371 minutes at centre away from Podkolzin in the past two seasons, producing a net 52 percent goal share and 48 percent expected goal share in those minutes. However, with Podkolzin on his wing, Draisaitl’s goal and expected goal share improved by 11 and 10 percent respectively. Overall, the Draisaitl and Podkolzin duo has out-scored opponents 44 to 26; that’s an incredible 63 percent goal share.
There are multiple reasons as to why Podkolzin has made such a big difference on the second line despite his relatively unremarkable production. For one, Podkolzin has been an excellent defensive player. 
In the past two seasons, Podkolzin has been on-ice for just 2.3 goals and 2.31 expected goals per hour, the lowest (i.e. best) rates among all of Edmonton’s forwards that have played substantial minutes in the top-six. Additionally, per EvolvingHockey’s WAR model, Podkolzin’s EVD/60 (Even Strength Defence WAR per 60 minutes of per play) ranks in the 90th percentile; put differently, Podkolzin’s adjusted defensive impact at even-strength is superior to about 90 percent of the league’s forwards. Impressive.
Specifically, perhaps the biggest driver of both excellent defensive results and his chemistry with Draisaitl is his tenacious forechecking.
Podkolzin has been fantastic at disrupting opposition breakouts. Per AllThreeZones, Podkolzin was the lone Oiler to rank above-average in forecheck pressures per 60 back in 2024-25, ranking in the 91st percentile to be exact. By consistently forcing opposing defenders to turn or ice the puck over when attempting a zone exit, this has led to increased offensive zone time for Edmonton with Podkolzin on-ice, resulting in decreased defensive zone time and thus much fewer goals and chances against. Indeed, for this reason, some of the most effective defensive forwards in the NHL are the most effective forecheckers.
Furthermore, alongside his clear impact on offensive zone possession, Podkolzin’s ability to recover loose pucks and create space using his size/physicality has been significantly beneficial to Draisaitl.
“Podzy does a lot of things that a lot of people who don’t really understand hockey, they don’t see it,” said Draisaitl himself back in September. “He does a lot of work for me and it lets me have a lot of time with the puck and sets me up with great situations where I lack that in my game.” 
And, not to mention, Podkolzin remains strong in his own end as well, with above-average defensive zone exit and defensive zone retrieval rates per AllThreeZones. In fact, this season specifically, he leads Edmonton’s skaters in retrievals leading to exits per 60.
Furthermore, even in terms of production, Podkolzin has taken a big step forward in that regard this year. After scoring 8 goals in 82 games last season, Podkolzin already has 9 goals in 38 games in 2025-26 thus far, a pace of about 19 goals over a full season; he has a decent chance at hitting the 20-goal mark.
Podkolzin’s overall five-on-five points per hour rate this season is 1.81, so far. For reference, the average second-line forward should see their production rate range from about ~1.6 – 2.0, meaning Podkolzin’s five-on-five production rates are actually exactly what one would expect from a second-line forward. He has limited minutes on special teams, and so his box score totals may not be staggering, but make no mistake, he has absolutely been a productive player this season at five-on-five.
All in all, Podkolzin took a big step forward in his NHL career during his first season in Edmonton, and he built on that progress even more in year two, firmly establishing himself as Leon Draisaitl’s go‑to left‑winger. And at just 24, he still has plenty of room to grow.
“He does a lot of great things for me personally, and I really, really love playing with him,” said Draisaitl. “He’s a great player.”
*All stats via Natural Stat Trick and EvolvingHockey unless stated otherwise
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