The Villain of Voronezh looks to make KHL waves
Russian columnist casts some doubts on Podkolzin, but it's not selling here
It's the latest edition of the weekly tracker, where we tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks' highest-profile prospects:
DMITRI ZLODEYEV
Say hello to the bad guy. From the far reaches of Russia to his emergence as a dark horse NHL prospect, the Voronezh native nicknamed `Villain' has come a long way in a few short months.
Just this season, the Canucks' 2020 sixth-round pick has played his way up from the junior-level MHL, to the AHL-level VHL to now knocking on the door of the KHL — with a call-up to the national team in between.
Zlodeyev, a two-way centre with a dogged defensive game and some offensive flair, didn't see any game action this past week with Dynamo Moscow due to an injury, but he sat down for an exclusive on-camera interview on the `I Only Touch Greatness' podcast on Saturday, telling hosts Mike Patron and Ryan Haze that he's focused on getting better every day he goes to the rink.
“I have to work on everything, but I would like to work on skating and my hands, my stickhandling,” said Zlodeyev, who admittedly is also working on his English.
Asked how to best describe his game, Zlodeyev — a likable, wideeyed 18-year-old whose disposition doesn't exactly match his moniker — keyed in on three aspects. “I like to play smart hockey. I like to play on faceoffs. I like to play defence.”
Zlodeyev, whose last name literally means `The Villain' (zlodey) in Russian, said he styles his game after the St. Louis Blues' Ryan O'Reilly and the Washington Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom — two world-class, two way centres.
But with all the talk about his detailed defensive game, the 5-foot11, 183 pounder has a nice set of hands and can beat opponents 1-on-1. Zlodeyev has been dominant in the MHL this season (13 GP, 4 G, 8A, +8) and has four goals in nine VHL games. His first few pro goals have come off rebounds and deflections, but Zlodeyev can score pretty ones as well, like last month when he made a move past a defender along the sideboards before undressing the goalie with a nice deke.
Zlodeyev suited up for Team Russia at the Karjala Cup in early November, but didn't make the cut for the world junior camp invitation list last week. He's not dissuaded.
“I always want to play with the national team, but now I'm focused on playing with my team Dynamo Moscow and I want to get (to the World Juniors) next year.”
Until then, expect Zlodeyev to get some game action in the KHL this season. According to Canucks Army writer and new Sportsnet 650 hire Chris Faber, Zlodeyev was set to suit up for the big show for the first time this past week before his injury put him on the shelf. He's expected to be back on the ice in a couple of weeks.
Zlodeyev, who is under contract in Russia for this season and the next, also told Faber that he's willing to come to North America when his contract expires and continue his development in the AHL, if need be.
Judging by the trajectory his career has taken, this diamond in the rough should be even more polished by the time he makes it here.
VASILI PODKOLZIN
The news about Podkolzin this week wasn't made on the ice — he's been out of the SKA lineup with an apparent illness — but in the pages of the Russian media. In a column for sport-express.ru on Sunday, journalist Mikhail Zislis not only tried to pour cold water on Podkolzin as a prospect, but also on the Vancouver sports media that's “doing the usual propaganda work.”
“This is Canada, and every step of the future, as they say, the stars are viewed under a magnifying glass,” wrote Zislis. “Vancouver TSN journalist Rick (Dhaliwal) even contacted (SKA vice-president Roman) Rotenberg to find out why the (forward) was released for some time in the VHL. All of this was almost hysterical. Like, SKA deliberately strangles a player who does not want to stay in Russia.”
Zislis even took some shots at the Canucks' organization.
“Vancouver has done absolutely nothing for the hockey player, whom it considers almost (its) property,” he wrote. “Canucks general manager Jim Benning has a nice touch about the forward's growth and how he is expected in Canada. From the outside, he looks like a lawyer trying to justify the high pick of the 10th-overall pick in the 2019 draft.”
If Zislis is trying to paint Benning as a snake-oil salesman, the only thing he could point to is the jet black hair dye. After all, it was SKA's Rotenberg who called Podkolzin the `Russian Connor McDavid' — not anyone from these parts. Talk about hysteria.
The point of Zislis's piece, which is making the rounds in Vancouver hockey circles, is that Podkolzin doesn't score enough to be a future star — nor has he scored enough to deserve an increase in ice time with SKA. Fair enough, for a player with two goals and four assists in 24 KHL games this season.
But the question remains: has Podkolzin played poorly enough to be scratched on a regular basis, demoted to the minors or benched for insufferable stretches this season? Even when he's not scoring, Podkolzin appears to be contributing in every other way possible.
And while the Canucks have high hopes for a player whose on-ice strengths are a little more subtle than, say, an Elias Pettersson or a Hughes, the organization knows what kind of player it's getting.
Earlier this month, Canucks director of player personnel Chris Higgins detailed what the team expects from Podkolzin when he gets here next spring.
“He'll probably be one of those guys who the true measure of his worth is going to be a lot more than his point totals,” Higgins told Sportsnet 650. “When you watch his games, all the little things he does well, all the things that earn coaches trust ... he seems like the kind of guy you can depend on.”
And why couldn't Podkolzin, with some NHL experience under his belt, be a top-six winger? His power and possession game looks like it would translate well to North America and eventually complement the scorers in the Canucks' lineup.
He should also get his fair share of goals, considering how many chances he creates. So let's just chalk it up as sour grapes from an organization — and a league — that's unable to retain its most promising talent.
He'll probably be one of those guys who the true measure of his worth is going to be a lot more than his point totals.