By Canadian Press

Canucks pick Russian forward Vasily Podkolzin 10th overall

Jun 23, 2019 | 6:33 PM

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has long had his eye on Vasily Podkolzin.

He watched him at the world junior hockey championships held in Vancouver last winter and liked Podkolzin’s size, strength and two-way game.

Now Benning has added Podkolzin to the Canucks prospect pool, drafting the 17-year-old Russian forward 10th overall at the NHL draft on Friday.

“I think he’s going to be a good complementary players to some of the skilled players we have,” the general manager said.

“He’s the type of player that takes puck battles personal. He wants to win his puck battles and I think that’s what makes him an effective player.”

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Podkolzin, who’s from Moscow, captained Russia at the under-18 world championships. He had one goal and four points in seven games to help his country win silver.

He was the No. 2 European skater on the NHL Central Scouting prospect list and has been described as a power forward.

“Vasily says that he can do whatever he will be asked to do, be a power forward, play making and he can score goals as well,” Podkolzin said through a translator on Friday.

The teen played part of last season for St. Petersburg of the KHL, where he has two years left on his contract.

Playing against men hasn’t been difficult for the six-foot-one, 196-pound Russian.

“It wasn’t hard from a physical point of view,” the translator said. “It was hard psychologically and again he hopes these two years he’s going to play in Russia, he will get stronger and will be more a man.”

The Canucks are confident Podkolzin will jump directly into the NHL after his time in Russia is up, Benning said.

“We had a good feeling about him. He has a good personality, he loves playing the game, so we were excited to get him,” he said.

The selection was announced at Rogers Arena where the Canucks are hosting this year’s draft.

Some of Vancouver’s recent first-round draft picks have quickly become key to the club’s rebuilding process.

Last year, the Canucks scooped up defenceman Quinn Hughes seventh overall. The 19-year-old made his NHL debut in March and tallied three assists before the end of the season.

Hughes was in the crowd at Rogers Arena on Friday, cheering for his younger brother, Jack Hughes, who was picked No. 1 by the New Jersey Devils.

Elias Pettersson, taken fifth overall by the Canucks in 2017, won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year at the NHL’s annual awards ceremony on Wednesday.

The Swedish centre led Vancouver in scoring last season, posting 28 goals and 38 assists over 71 games.

Despite Pettersson’s success, the Canucks missed the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, finishing the regular season fifth in the Pacific Division with a 35-36-11 record.

The lacklustre performance brought mounting pressure for Benning.

Vancouver has made the playoffs just once since Benning took the reigns in 2014, and the GM has repeatedly come under fire for signing under-performing forwards like Loui Eriksson, Sam Gagner, Tim Schaller and Jay Beagle.

While the former scout has collected some talented young athletes for the Canucks, question marks remain over some of his other selections.

Defenceman Olli Juolevi, taken fifth overall in 2016, has yet to play his first NHL game after suffering a number of injuries, including knee surgery last winter.

Benning will have an opportunity to add to Vancouver’s prospect pool when the draft continues on Saturday. The Canucks have eight more picks, starting with the 40th selection.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press