Welcome to Oilersnation’s annual player review series, where we dive into the Edmonton Oilers season player by player. We’ll look back at the season that was, what kind of impact each player had, and what we could see from them next season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.

When Stan Bowman acquired Vasily Podkolzin for a fourth-round pick in August of 2024, the move raised eyebrows across the hockey world. Tension had been building all week as the Edmonton Oilers’ decision on the dual offer sheets signed by Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg drew near. Was Podkolzin the club’s budget replacement for Holloway?

The Canucks selected Podkolzin 10th overall in the 2019 Draft, but he fell out of favour in the organization after a couple of challenging campaigns. Across his final two seasons in Vancouver, he put up just nine points in 58 games. The underlying numbers didn’t paint the most flattering picture either. In sheltered minutes, he managed only a 35.7 per cent goal share and 49.6 per cent expected goal share in 2023-24.

The Oilers bought low on the 22-year-old prospect and elected not to match the Holloway offer sheet, cementing........

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