Oilers acquire former 10th overall pick in trade with Canucks

The Oilers gave up a 2025 4th round draft pick that originally belonged to the Ottawa Senators, a seemingly low price to pay for a player who still has plenty of time to breakout at the NHL level.

Podkolzin, 23, was chosen 10th overall in the 2019 NHL draft, but had struggled to stay healthy and consistent since being drafted. After enjoying a solid rookie season, he has bounced between the AHL and NHL, failing to secure a full time role while also dealing with a plethora of injuries.

With this move, the Oilers add a forward to an already crowded group, potentially signalling that they will not match at least one of the offer sheets made by the St. Louis Blues, which targeted Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg respectively.

Podkolzin is an incredibly talented young player, who most certainly has top 6 potential, however he is prone to defensive lapses and consistency issues, problems which the Vancouver Canucks were seemingly unable to fix.

With the price of the trade only being a 4th round pick, the Oilers made a smart decision shoring up the forward core in case they do lose Holloway to the Blues, and to get a 23 year old former 10th overall pick for so cheap seems like a steal. A good move for the Oilers as the new season rapidly approaches.