The Edmonton Oilers have made a trade with the Vancouver Canucks involving Vasily Podkolzin

Reports are confirming this evening that the Edmonton Oilers are adding depth to their forward group. They have landed former first round pick Vasily Podkolzin in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. In exchange, the Canucks will receive a 2025 fourth-round pick.

During his time with the Vancouver Canucks Vasily Podkolzin never really lived up to expectations. After being selected 10th overall in 2019 out of Russia he was expected to be a future impact player for the Canucks.

Unfortunately, four years after being drafted Vasily Podkolzin was still stuck in the AHL putting up 28 points in 44 games. He did appear in 137 NHL games during that time but struggled to excel only tallying 35 points throughout that entire time.

With the Edmonton Oilers, he likely brings energy and grit with a combination of solid skating to the bottom-six. He has shown flashes of skill throughout his career but never enough consistency to warrant being selected in the top 10. This trade also creates discussion about the future of other Oilers players like Dylan Holloway.

While this is a major shake-up for both teams on its own it also seems like a precursor to bigger things. The Oilers are of course considering whether or not to match offer sheets for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed by the St. Louis Blues.

The addition of Vasily Podkolzin could make Dylan Holloway more expendable now. This creates a lot of mystery around the Oilers' plans. To this point many assumed the team would match Dylan Holloway's contract and let Philip Broberg leave. This trade now could potentially change that in a big way.

Both Dylan Holloway and Vasily Podkolzin to this point in their careers have been promising young players who have mostly played roles further down the lineup in the NHL. With the Edmonton Oilers already having a stacked top-six there likely is not room for both Dylan Holloway and Vasily Podkolzin on the roster. With Dylan Holloway currently signed to an offer sheet by the St. Louis Blues it wouldn't be surprising if the Oilers now just let him leave.

As more details are revealed regarding this trade and the bigger circumstances surrounding it we will continue to keep you updated.