The Edmonton Oilers will be entering the 2025-26 season hoping to finally win their first Stanley Cup since 1990, and while most of the attention from fans has been on the looming extension of Connor McDavid, another player is eligible for an extension and could be in for a huge campaign alongside Leon Draisaitl.
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Vasily Podkolzin was acquired by the Oilers last summer from the Vancouver Canucks after the team lost both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to the St. Louis Blues because of offer sheets, and he was entering the season on a new, two-year contract. He became a staple on Draisaitl’s wing last season, and while he didn’t explode offensively, fans grew to love his physical style of play, and Draisaitl recently praised the idea of playing alongside him again.
Leon Draisaitl is just gassing up Vasily Podkolzin; he loves to play with him.
📹: @EdmontonOilers pic.twitter.com/LcShgqWX2a
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) September 4, 2025
“Podzy does a lot of things that a lot of people that don’t really understand hockey, they don’t see it,” Draisaitl stated. He continued: “He does a lot of that work for me, and it lets me have a lot of time with the puck and sets me up in great situations where I lack that in my game.” He added that Podkolzin was someone he loved playing with and said that he was a great player.
Podkolzin is entering the second season of his two-year deal that has a $1 million cap hit, and while he didn’t have the offensive outbreak that some fans were looking for in the top-six role he played in last season, he did things away from the puck that have justified giving him a long-term extension and a nice pay raise.
What Could Podkolin’s Next Deal Look Like?
Last season, Podkolzin played all 82 games, scoring eight goals and adding 16 assists for 24 points, which comes out to a 0.29 points-per-game average. In 22 playoff games, he scored three goals and added seven assists for 10 points. Throughout his short career so far, he has played 219 games, scoring 26 goals and adding 33 assists for 59 points, which comes out to a 0.27 points-per-game average.
The style that Podkolzin plays with is unique, and it complements Draisaitl almost perfectly. Draisaitl is often the last man in the offensive zone and plays the role…
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