Vasily Podkolzin: The Oilers’ Best Kept Fantasy Secret Is Out
The secret is out. Two games into the 2026-27 season, Vasily Podkolzin has announced himself to the fantasy hockey world in the most emphatic way possible, three goals, one assist, three power play points, eleven shots on goal, and seven hits. On the top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Last season was the breakthrough. He posted career highs across the board with 19 goals and 37 points in 82 games, which was fourth on the Oilers in even-strength goals and the team leader in hits for the third consecutive season. Daily Faceoff called him “found money” for Edmonton after the Canucks traded him for a fourth-round pick. Coach Kris Knoblauch was equally direct about his value: “He started for us on the fourth line and played well, we moved him up and he spent most of the season with Draisaitl.” That trust has only grown heading into this season with the new coach, Mike Babcock.
What makes the rest-of-season case for Podkolzin so compelling is the combination of factors converging simultaneously. He is on the best offensive team in the Western Conference. He is playing top-line minutes alongside two of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He is shooting at elite volume: eleven shots in two games is a pace that sustains goal production regardless of percentage. He brings physical category value with his hits that almost no other top-line winger in fantasy provides.
The power play note from the opening two games is worth flagging. Three power play points in two games suggests his role on the man advantage may be expanding beyond what was anticipated coming into the season. If that deployment is real and sustained, his fantasy ceiling rises considerably from where most managers are currently valuing him.
The risk is real and worth naming. He is not a natural power play producer. Last season’s numbers were driven primarily by even-strength production, and a regression on the power play is possible as the season progresses. But, a new year with a new coach brings new opportunity. He does play a Babcock style of hockey, and if Babs likes you, that’s a good thing ( and Babs doesn’t like anyone ) so it’s possible he progresses at this trajectory.
Here is the rest-of-season reality: a physical, high-energy winger playing top-line minutes in Edmonton’s offence, shooting at volume and providing hit category value that almost nobody else at his roster percentage offers…and someone who have may found a scoring touch we kinda knew he had…on an Oilers roster that lacks depth in scoring. There’s a path there.
The window to add him at a reasonable cost is closing fast.
Projection Tier: 59 to 68 Points
Floor: 51 Points
Expected: 59 Points
Ceiling: 70 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Trending Up
+ The Add List +