Vasily Podkolzin, Sheldon Dries, Akito Hirose among 20 players cut from Canucks training camp

[Barn Burner]

Podkolzin is waiver exempt, so there's that. 

 

As mentioned, he's only 22, he needs to relax and find his game. 

 

He should take some boxing lessons to back up a hard hitting game. 

 

Build his confidence up.  

[MikeyD]

Surprised about Hirose. I figured it'd be him and McWard competing for the final spot. 

[PhillipBlunt]

Site went down for a spell there. 

[MikeyD]

3 hours ago, Devron said:

Make of break year for Podkolzin in my opinion. Please. I really want this guy to turn out. Has the tools to be a great player for us. I blame to KHL for his lack of development honestly 

He was like this his whole career. Even before the KHL he was very on and off.

 

He needs a real solid coach who believes and is willing to devote passion into him. 

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

Just now, MikeyD said:

Surprised about Hirose. I figured it'd be him and McWard competing for the final spot. 

 

I'm not.  It's about asset management at this point.  Hirose doesn't need waivers to go down, and as someone else suggested, McWard is probably a bit of a placeholder in case we do need to send someone down as a result of acquiring someone else (because McWard also doesn't need waivers).  Right now, we're trying to sneak Woo and Rathbone down, with Irwin being the wily vet that can be used as a distraction in case someone decides they want warm bodies.

[R3aL]

10 minutes ago, MikeyD said:

Surprised about Hirose. I figured it'd be him and McWard competing for the final spot. 

I’d say if HIROSE was a righty it would have been closer 

[R3aL]

I’m not shocked with Pods.

 

i would have preferred when he went to abby he stayed there all the way through the rest of the season and the playoffs.

 

i feel like his whole career he’s not been at the right place at the right time for his development.

 

im hoping this tenure in the AHL is truly beneficial for him.

 

in both confidence building and learning how he needs to play to be an every day nhler kids got the tools and the work ethic it would be an absolute shame for him not to become a regular at the very minimum.

 

as for production he needs that opportunity to be the guy. I hope he becomes that guy in abby this season and he doesn’t get an early call up. 

[Canuckle]

34 minutes ago, R3aL said:

I’m not shocked with Pods.

 

i would have preferred when he went to abby he stayed there all the way through the rest of the season and the playoffs.

 

i feel like his whole career he’s not been at the right place at the right time for his development.

 

im hoping this tenure in the AHL is truly beneficial for him.

 

in both confidence building and learning how he needs to play to be an every day nhler kids got the tools and the work ethic it would be an absolute shame for him not to become a regular at the very minimum.

 

as for production he needs that opportunity to be the guy. I hope he becomes that guy in abby this season and he doesn’t get an early call up. 

 

100%. He's only 22 and still on his ELC, afterall. Let him relax, play his game and gain some confidence lighting it up in the minors. From what we're hearing he's putting all this pressure and expectation on himself which can obviously be detrimental.

 

Podz said he talked with JT Miller about getting sent down as Miller's been through it too. Good to know he's at least talking about it and also good to have reassurance from a guy like that.  "Don't worry Podzy. I did it too. You'll be back soon and better than ever."

[wai_lai416]

none of the cuts are surprising.. pretty much the only players remaining are on defence where the 6th slot is still a question mark.. i'm not a fan of hoglander going to be given a spot on the roster whether it's starting or in the pressbox because of his waiver status.. he haven't done or shown anything in the preseason so far to show he's deserving to be on the main roster.. he's 100% only still here coz of waivers and most likely going to remain on the roster in and out of the lineup.. they'll probably sent studnicka or joshua down whoever's less likely to get claimed on waivers on the last day to get cap compliant and then recall them as soon as they place poolman on ltir

[Mrwipeout]

Both Hogs and Pods are both young and with a LOT of untapped potential. Hogs has a high tenacity which i think is the main reason for why hes still in the lineup. A year or 2 in abby is not going to hurt either of them, but it will be a mental struggle when things dont go their way. Improving, training, developing must be in their mindset and there will be injuries for sure in the lineup. its a long season. thats when u get oportunities to make an impact u gotta go for it. On a positive note Podz should be a natural 1st liner with Bains and Raty maybe? Bains-Raty-Podkolzin...seems like an interesting idea anyway...something to take the mind of these heartbreaking cuts....imagine raty being a 20% better skater then he currently is...Podkolzin bein a determined more feisty battle and go-to-crease powerhouse....hmmm....potential....

 

i think Rathbone will be taken....Also that Hirose its a bit of a surprise he was sent down...maybe Dries will be taken?

 

[Sabrefan1]

5 hours ago, Alflives said:

Pods came out of shape? Didn’t Tocchet say Pods was ripped and needed to take time off from training?

Pods problem is with confidence. He’s the opposite to Virtanen. Pods needs to go out and get boozed up and relax. He’d play great after a night of good boozing. 

 

On 9/16/2023 at 1:59 AM, Alflives said:

bustaroo bonsai.

[iinatcc]

3 hours ago, Mrwipeout said:

Both Hogs and Pods are both young and with a LOT of untapped potential. Hogs has a high tenacity which i think is the main reason for why hes still in the lineup. A year or 2 in abby is not going to hurt either of them, but it will be a mental struggle when things dont go their way. Improving, training, developing must be in their mindset and there will be injuries for sure in the lineup. its a long season. thats when u get oportunities to make an impact u gotta go for it. On a positive note Podz should be a natural 1st liner with Bains and Raty maybe? Bains-Raty-Podkolzin...seems like an interesting idea anyway...something to take the mind of these heartbreaking cuts....imagine raty being a 20% better skater then he currently is...Podkolzin bein a determined more feisty battle and go-to-crease powerhouse....hmmm....potential....

 

i think Rathbone will be taken....Also that Hirose its a bit of a surprise he was sent down...maybe Dries will be taken?

 

 

Saying Podkolzin has a lot of untapped potential is a bit of an exaggeration I think. At this point and 2 years + one preseason in, it's safe to say Podkolzin's ceiling isn't going to be much higher than a 3rd or 4th line player. I could be wrong and maybe eventually he explodes one year (it happens from time to time), but setting these expectations on Podkolzin is just setting up ourselves for disappointment. Nothing in his trajectory and past performances (i.e KHL) suggest he's going to become a Top line player.

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by iinatcc

[DrJockitch]

32 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

 

Saying Podkolzin has a lot of untapped potential is a bit of an exaggeration I think. At this point and 2 years + one preseason in, it's safe to say Podkolzin's ceiling isn't going to be much higher than a 3rd or 4th line player. I could be wrong and maybe eventually he explodes one year (it happens from time to time), but setting these expectations on Podkolzin is just setting up ourselves for disappointment. Nothing in his trajectory and past performances (i.e KHL) suggest he's going to become a Top line player.

 

I think people forget how young he still is because he was Benninged into the league. 
PFs take longer to develop and he got screwed not being played in KHL. 
He should have been in AHL to start.  We delayed his development further because of incompetence. 
‘This guy needs some runway. The package is just too enticing when your forward group is half Lilliputian.  

Edited October 2, 2023 by DrJockitch

[TopChed]

8 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

I'd be happy if he was claimed so we'd be guaranteed not to have to see him in the lineup.  He's absolutely useless.

I dissagree he's not a ft NHLer sure ill give you that but he has enough skill to be a middle 6 stop gap when injuries occur which outside of Hoglander we don't really have. he has more skill than Guiseppe but Guiseppe's a bit more well rounded.  

[TopChed]

9 hours ago, MikeyD said:

Surprised about Hirose. I figured it'd be him and McWard competing for the final spot. 

Hirose is IMO the better player playing more mins in the AHL won't hurt him. 

[Alflives]

6 minutes ago, TopChed said:

I dissagree he's not a ft NHLer sure ill give you that but he has enough skill to be a middle 6 stop gap when injuries occur which outside of Hoglander we don't really have. he has more skill than Guiseppe but Guiseppe's a bit more well rounded.  

Wasn’t King referring to Dries? 

[Alflives]

2 minutes ago, TopChed said:

Hirose is IMO the better player playing more mins in the AHL won't hurt him. 

Hirose is 24. Much like McDonough (will will be 24 in a month) he’s an older guy, who has limited runway left. These guys are already physically developed. They aren’t going to get bigger, faster, or much stronger. Their only real area to improve is how fast they process the game at the pro level. Hirose is clearly very smart. He looks like a future NHLer. 

[TopChed]

9 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Wasn’t King referring to Dries? 

So am I.

[Alflives]

Just now, TopChed said:

So am I.

Oh. Dries is a lot lighter than deGesepi. He would be no loss. He’s not a guy that makes any difference to us winning. 

[Jester13]

2 hours ago, iinatcc said:

 

Saying Podkolzin has a lot of untapped potential is a bit of an exaggeration I think. At this point and 2 years + one preseason in, it's safe to say Podkolzin's ceiling isn't going to be much higher than a 3rd or 4th line player. I could be wrong and maybe eventually he explodes one year (it happens from time to time), but setting these expectations on Podkolzin is just setting up ourselves for disappointment. Nothing in his trajectory and past performances (i.e KHL) suggest he's going to become a Top line player.

 

I think giving Podz a role in Abby as a 3rd or 4th line checker would be good for him. Get him to simply move his feet and start hitting guys and not worrying about his scoring could do wonders for him. Teach him to be like PDG and Studs and just play hard, because when Podz has played in preseason, it looks like he's miscast and just lost as a result. If he knew his role was different, I think we'd see a different guy, just like Studs and PDG. 

 

[elvis15]

On 10/1/2023 at 5:25 PM, Silent Man said:

With war in Ukraine, God knows what is going on in his head. 

Yeah, probably not it. Likely not even his new baby making him sleep deprived.

 

On 10/1/2023 at 6:09 PM, Devron said:

Make of break year for Podkolzin in my opinion. Please. I really want this guy to turn out. Has the tools to be a great player for us. I blame to KHL for his lack of development honestly 

It'll be harder once he's waiver eligible, but it's not as if he'll be a bust by the end of the year if he's not with the team. I'd say it isn't that he hasn't developed but rather he's overthinking things, and Tochett has said as much. The ability is there to be what we drafted him for, if only not at his ceiling.

 

On 10/1/2023 at 6:57 PM, Amebushi said:

Podkolzin really looks like a Russian Virtanen sometimes. All the tools but shows up out of shape and not ready. If the kid would just skate hard and start hitting RT would play him all the time. If this doesn’t light a fire under him then it’s about time to label him a bustaroo. 

Totally opposite of Virtanen. Effort and commitment are not Podkolzin's issues, but just that he's overthinking plays rather than trusting his hockey instincts. People already mentioned that he's in excellent shape as well, but he could stand to simplify his game and play a bit more like a 4th liner.

Edited October 3, 2023 by elvis15

[elvis15]

10 hours ago, MikeyD said:

Surprised about Hirose. I figured it'd be him and McWard competing for the final spot. 

As has been said elsewhere, they aren't directly competing for the same spot. McWard is right handed and is getting a shot best to Hughes as a result. If that wasn't the case, we'd be seeing one of the new guys, Cole or Soucy playing their opposite side. I don't think Juulsen has done enough this preseason to stick.

 

Hirose is competing against Brisebois and Wolainen on the left side. Hirose is close but Tochett noted the wanted a little more from Hirose as far as fitness (likely gaining some size over the summer) and he doesn't have to worry about waivers so he gets time in the AHL to develop.

[boziffous]

Pods has the tools and the work ethic, he just seems to be lacking in confidence. When he's played in the top 6 he seems to defer to his linemates instead of using his shot. He is thinking too much when he is out there, almost as if he is so afraid of messing up that he doesn't play to what he is capable of. Hopefully he starts strong in the AHL, relaxes a little bit and regains his confidence. Being a go to guy in Abby is probably the best path to him refinding his game.

[futurefilm]

Was expecting Podz to go down. I really think he needs time to develop w/top 6 minutes which he will get in Abby. 

 

I think in today's NHL w/ELC contracts being cheap you don't get that long development like the days of the Red wings leaving guys in the AHL forever that some players need and after 2 years are considered a " bust". 

 

I'm hoping now w/the player development department expanded and now being in Abby for a 3rd year and getting settled in we can finally see some growth. We have had a little luck with "undrafted" guys.

[VegasCanuck]

20 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

I think Woo and Rathbone are the only ones likely to get claimed, with an outside chance that Sawchenko might as well.  Irwin and Dries are unprobable, unless a team is pretty desparate for warm bodies.

 

On the bright side, if they clear, we'll have some D depth to be able to call up when the inevitable injuries start to happen.

I think Rathbone has regressed and I personally think it's due to repeated head injuries. The kid has talent and incredible speed, but hasn't learned to keep his head up and track opposition players who could be a threat.