Vasily Podkolzin speaks at a press conference in English, says his favourite word is “Bruce there it is”

Today, Vancouver Canucks rookie Vasily Podkolzin spoke for the first time since training camp.

Only this time, he didn’t require a translator — a testament to the huge strides Podkolzin has taken off the ice in learning the English language.

The 20-year-old Russian winger arrived with a baseline level of understanding of English at training camp in September, and speaking through a translator, said that he and his wife would work with a tutor to learn the language.

Clearly, that work has paid off.

Podkolzin spoke about a plethora of topics, which Chris Faber will be breaking down in a much-anticipated return article that will, very fittingly, be about Podkolzin.

Today, however, we’re very pleased to share this absolute gem with you.

When asked what his favourite English word (that he could say during a media availability) is, Podkolzin — who displayed a great sense of humour that we saw glimpses of at training camp — said the now somewhat-iconic phrase that Canucks fans have been belting out all season long:

Podkolzin says he’s been learning on and off the ice every day and that he started to understand English more around the New Year, and built more confidence in the second half.

In his first season with the Canucks, Podkolzin has scored 14 goals and added 12 assists through 77 games.