Oilers’ Knoblauch says Podkolzin ‘hopefully’ going to play last pre-season game

One of the more important players on the Edmonton Oilers roster is expected to return soon.

When speaking to the media after the team’s 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch gave an update on forward Vasily Podkolzin, who was granted a leave of absence last week after his father, Alexander, suddenly passed away last Tuesday.

Knoblauch stated that Podkolzin will be returning from Russia later this week.

“We’re expecting his flight to come back Tuesday night,” Knoblauch said. “So, we’re not going to get him in that Wednesday game. He’ll skate on Wednesday, skate on Thursday, and then hopefully, he can play that last exhibition game.”

That last preseason affair will see Edmonton pay a visit to the Canucks on Friday night. The team will get a few days off before beginning the 2025-26 regular season with the season premiere of The Battle of Alberta, hosting the Calgary Flames next Wednesday.

Podkolzin came to the Oilers last August, when he was acquired in a trade that sent a fourth-round pick to the Canucks just a few months after signing his latest contract, a deal with a $1 million cap hit. He was brought to Edmonton not long after the Oilers lost forward Dylan Holloway to the St. Louis Blues.

The news of Podkolzin’s father’s death came the day after he signed a three-year contract extension. The deal, set to kick in next season, will carry an AAV of $2.95 million through the 2028-29 campaign.

Podkolzin proved to be a solid player in Edmonton’s top 12. In 82 games, the first time he’s played a full NHL schedule, the Moscow native posted eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points. He scored three goals and seven assists for 10 points in the postseason as well, as the Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row.

It was the 24-year-old’s first full season in the NHL since his rookie season with the Canucks in 2021-22, having split the previous two seasons with Vancouver and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Across four seasons, Podkolzin has appeared in 219 NHL regular-season games, scoring 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points.