Thomas Drance, Canucks writer, asked Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet about Vasili Podkolzin and specifically if he was "running out of the runway" on shots from the point.
Tocchet defended Podkolzin's effort before talking about him not reading plays exceptionally well.
''His effort is there...he's got to be in that rail (lane), crouches down, then too late. It's just that his read isn't right, and he's got to learn those reads. You've got work with a kid like that, he's just a terrific kid..."
Being a terrific kid isn't enough to be a dominant NHL forward. The 22-year-old Podkolzin is still trying to learn consistency and how to stay in the line-up. Hopefully, with the help from Tocchet, Podkolzin can earn his spot in the line-up sooner rather than later.
Podkolzin is one of the only Canucks' forwards that does not require waivers to be sent down. It just may be in his best interest to play in the AHL, to perfect his craft with Jeremy Colliton, who showed wonders with Nils Hoglander, but ultimately to gain the confidence he had as a 17-year-old that same confidence that made him an obvious first-round pick back in 2019.
