Vancouver Canucks top prospect Vasili Podkolzin named captain for Russia’s U20 team

After being tossed around in the Russian pro leagues, it’s good to see some positive news for Vasili Podkolzin.

The 19 year old Russian winger will now be known as the 19 year old Russian captain of the U20 team as he will be wearing the “C” in an upcoming tournament this week.

This does not mean that he will captain Russia at the World Junior Championships this December but should mean he is still the front runner to captain Russia at the WJC.

Podoklzin has bounced around the KHL and VHL over the past two weeks and now finds himself leading Russia’s U20 team at the Karjala Cup in Finland. The tournament is set to begin on Thursday, November 5th.

Podkolzin won’t be alone on team Russia as longshot Dmitri Zlodeyev will have a chance to make a name for himself in this tournament. He is still on the bubble to make Russia’s roster for the 2021 WJC and a good showing at the Karjala would definitely boost his chances of representing Russia on the big stage this December.

Gillian Kemmerer of The Faceoff & Ice Diaries was reporting on Russia’s U20 media availability and got this quote from Podkolzin.

Russia does have something to prove as the powerhouse country has not won a gold medal at the WJC since 2011 while hitting the podium in nine of the previous 10 tournaments.

The Karjala Cup begins on Thursday and it’s going to look magnificent to view Podkolzin skating around with a “C” on his chest. He is expected to be a leader on and off the ice for Russia and he needs to produce offence at a torrent pace for Russia to be successful. If he is able to produce at a high rate, it should show Canucks fans and SKA management that he does have more offensive potential than the stat line indicates.