Rick Dhaliwal · @DhaliwalSports
21st Sep 2020 from TwitLonger
Igor Larionov on Vasili Podkolzin’s development in the KHL.
Before social media, it was hard for the Canucks fan base to monitor prospects.
That’s not the case anymore.
Now it is up to the second highlights and stats on Vasili Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander for Canucks fans.
There is good and bad that comes with that.
Fans want goals and points and lots of ice time for the top prospects and that is not the case right now for the 19 year old Podkolzin who has had 9 minutes, 6 minutes and 8 minutes of ice time in his last 3 games for St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL.
We can all agree that the Canucks 1st round pick in 2019 is a big part of the future in Vancouver, he is also a very important player for Russian junior coach Igor Larionov for the upcoming world junior hockey championships.
Larionov is not panicking about Podkolzin, “Not at all, he is a young player, it is a process. I watched him in back to back games recently, I talked to him and gave him a couple of pointers. He can be better and he will be, I am not worried. ”
Expectations on 1st round picks can be overwhelming at times, especially in a Canadian market and Larionov knows that, he played in Vancouver, “Young players go through slumps, he is no exception, he has character and skill but it is up to him. I am going to talk to his coach on Friday and see what the feedback is.”
Podkolzin is going to have to remain positive and work his way through this says Larionov, “He was in good spirits when I talked to him, it is a process he has to go through, he is not making excuses and blaming the coach, he is saying he will work his way up the lineup.”
There seems to be this feeling in Vancouver amongst the fans base that that Podkolzin and Hoglander are just going to walk onto the Canucks roster after their season is over, most sources Europe do not feel that way.
Both are bright bright pieces for the Canucks but both players need development, time and patience.