Oilers notebook: Vasily Podkolzin playing in rarefied space

In Blair MacDonald’s first kick at the NHL can, he scored an all-time 46 goals alongside The Great One, prompting the all-time-rain-on-his-parade quip from Glen Sather.

“A fire hydrant could score 40 on the wing with Wayne Gretzky,” said the Edmonton Oilers coach and GM back in 1980.

So, Vasily Podkolzin has seven goals in eight Oiler games, with not just his usual sidekick Leon Draisaitl, but with Connor McDavid, too. How many could Podzky pot if new Oiler coach Mike Babcock keeps that currently No. 1 NHL line together for longer than the first month? Fifty? That’s a reach because Leon and Connor both like and need the puck on their stick more than Podkolzin does, but the Russian knows he’s living in a rarefied space playing with 97 and 29. He’s just trying to not take their oxygen away.

“Pretty unique … I have a helluva opportunity,” said Podkolzin, who looked this gift horse in the mouth before Game 1 and climbed aboard with Draisaitl and McDavid. It’s the highest-scoring line in the league with 48 points (19 goals) in the Oilers’ first eight games. Fourteen of the goals have been ES.

And, Podkolzin hasn’t, for a single shift, just been along for the ride. Apart from the goals, he’s got 11 points and he’s plus 12.  Yes, his gaudy shooting percentage (31.8 percent, seven goals on 22 shots) is likely unsustainable, but Babcock has jumped on the Podkolzin bandwagon.

“Podsy’s a real player. He gives them a dimension, just like Hymes (Hyman) would give them (if on that line). He’s a dominant two-way player,” said Babcock.

No argument from McDavid.

“He’s a big part of the success of the line. Goes to the net hard, fore-checks hard. We have to remind him sometimes that he doesn’t always have to be F1. It’s OK to be F2. He wants to get in the forecheck (first) and win pucks and get to the net. He’s had a lot of success at it,” said the Oiler captain.

Podkolzin is 11th in the NHL in hits with 34. Kiefer Sherwood leads with 46.

The goals and points may be gravy, but Podkolzin looks like he’s turned the corner after stumbling early as a first-round pick in Vancouver. He would be a solid top six player on every NHL team. When asked just before the first game of the season if at least 20 goals and 50 points (both career highs) were possible after 19 goals and 37 points were his best, he didn’t dance.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said.

So how many goals could Podkolzin get with not just one superstar, but two?

Trent Frederic would probably like more goals than fights, currently one snipe and two fistic furies, but he took it upon himself to drop the mitts with Seattle’s Ryan Lindgren in the first week of the schedule and had arguably the best NHL fight of the season, when he threw down with Utah’s Jack McBain last weekend.

Both paybacks for hits on Evan Bouchard and Draisaitl.

Lindgren, currently out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury, clobbered Bouchard at the world championship last spring, putting Bouchard out of the tournament. McBain cross-checked Draisaitl in the back, spilling him into the boards.

“It’s (fighting) a separate part of hockey. In terms of my game, it’s nice the guys in the room appreciated it. Always feels good when the guys appreciate that side of the game,” said Frederic, who had a wild bout with McBain, behind on points early but throwing several right hands late, with McBain’s jersey ending up over his head.

Frederic doesn’t think he’s the designated fighter.

“I think we have a lot of guys who can do it. The last few times, it’s been my number to do it and I’ll continue to do so,” said Frederic, moving his feet much better this season than last, more involved physically.

“Having more fun at the rink than I did last year,” he said.

Babcock had Ryan Nugent-Hopkins alternating with Colton Dach as the second-line centre with Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen at Monday’s practice, but he won’t be making his NHL return Tuesday. Thursday, when the Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are here, or Saturday when Toronto makes their only appearance? Who knows. TBD.

“With what we’ve been through, where they (players) come back and then they’re gone (Jason Dickinson), I don’t really have a great answer for you (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins). I wish I did. I guess we’ll talk to the guys after and see what’s going on. We’re being smart about this, skating the guys, making sure they come back healthy so they stay healthy,” said Babcock.

Dickinson, who missed the first four games because something was wrong with his seemingly repaired broken ankle, then returned, playing catch-up for the three games on the California trip, limped off with a lower-body issue (not the ankle) last Thursday morning, and didn’t skate with the main group Monday.

The handicapped Wild keep winning and are not only without their best defenceman and USA Olympian Brock Faber (fractured skull) for a long time yet, but also their captain Jared Spurgeon (upper-body) and another veteran Olli Maatta (upper-body). The local product Spurgeon (1,018 games), who turns 37 late next month, is on the five-game Western trip, which starts here Tuesday, but might not play in his hometown. They’ve got Jonas Brodin, playing his off-side, and Quinn Hughes as their top pair now, with Zach Bogosian and Daemon Hunt as the 3-4. Farmhands David Spacek and Matt Kiersted are the third tag-team.

When asked about the Wild, Babcock acknowledged Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, along with Joel Eriksson Ek, their No. 1 line, but changing on the fly, he also said he got an eyeful of another younger forward in Minnesota’s win over Columbus Sunday.

“I was really impressed, who’s 22? The Russian kid. He’s really good. (Danila) Yurov or something like that. He looks like a real player to me, too,” said Babcock.

They may have found a No. 2 C in Yurov, who has four goals in nine games.

Yurov, 22, the Wild’s first-round pick in 2022 (24th overall), who spent three full seasons in the KHL (Magnitogorsk), has done his best job in the face-off circle. He was bottom of the pack last season and one of the best in the league right now.

“He had the lowest face-off percentage in the NHL season for centermen to take at least 742 draws (39.2 percent). He’s at 56.6 percent this season,” tweeted The Athletic’s Mike Russo.

And Eriksson-Ek? “He’s a dominant two-way player who allows those two guys (Kaprizov and Boldy) to play,” said Babcock.

• McDavid is roaring with his all-time best 23 points through eight games, but Frederic says McDavid’s drive is always there. “When he was at my (summer) wedding, he’d already run a few miles in the morning,” said Frederic.
• The Oilers auditioned their new jerseys (black and orange), with black pants and the matte helmets, at Monday’s practice. Black and orange? Isn’t that the Flyers?
• The Oilers haven’t put Dickinson on IR with whatever ailment is bothering him. He’s on the regular roster.
• With Carolina in town, might they bring rehabbing (knee) Oiler goalie Frederik Andersen’s diamond-studded Stanley Cup ring after he won his first in the spring with the Canes?
• Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, who had hip surgery in May, after their playoffs ended, might not be back until U.S. Thanksgiving. He’s skating but not hard. “He’s quite aways from playing, I don’t think less than a month,” said coach John Hynes. So ex-Oiler Calvin Pickard, signed as cover for the Gustavsson surgery but likely their AHL starter when Gustavsson returns, is the No. 2 in net to starry Jesper Wallstedt. Pickard signed a one-year, $1 million free-agent deal this summer with the Wild.
• Kaprizov got his 10th goal of the season, leading the NHL pack, in the Wild’s 2-1 W over Columbus Sunday. He’s the fastest player in Wild history to 10 goals (nine games), beating Brian Rolston’s 12 GP 20 years ago
• Spacek’s dad Jaro expertly partnered Chris Pronger on the Oilers run to the 2006 Cup Final. Jaro lives in Plzen back in Czechia these days. He manages the hockey program for their Extraliga team. David, 23, has played for Czechia internationally (Olympics, world junior) and is taking advantage of his NHL shot (seven total games) with all the injuries on Wild’s back-end.

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