With goals in three straight games, Edmonton Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin is suddenly hot. The 23-year-old, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Vancouver Canucks, didn’t have a goal in his first 21 games with the Oilers. Now he can’t stop lighting the lamp.
The winger’s play has got fans excited. Even when Podkolzin wasn’t scoring, he was doing a lot of little things to maintain his spot on Edmonton’s second line, centred by superstar Leon Draisaitl, who’s a huge fan. It’s not hard to see his potential for a long career as a two-way forward.
Podkolzin is just the 27th Russian to play for the Oilers, and he already has the 16th most goals among players from Russia in franchise history. In Edmonton’s 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Saturday (Nov. 30), Podkolzin became just the 13th Russian to ever score a game-winning goal for the Oilers in the regular season.
Suffice it to say the Oilers don’t necessarily have an extensive history with Russian players. But they’ve had a few good ones, a few memorable ones, and a few beloved ones. Here’s a look at the top 5 Russians in Edmonton’s NHL history, with honourable mentions going to Denis Grebeshkov, Igor Kravchuk, and Alexander Selivanov.
5. Igor Ulanov
Likely the most popular Russian to play in Edmonton, Igor Ulanov won the hearts of Oil Country by playing with reckless abandon during parts of two stints with the Oilers, first in 1999-00 and 2000-01 and again in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
He threw hits, blocked shots, got in the grill of opponents, and never took a shift off – pretty much everything fans love. But he earned everyone’s admiration for how he resurrected his career in 2003-04, starting with a tryout in the American Hockey League (AHL) before signing with Edmonton and going on to win the Oilers’ Unsung Hero award for that season.
Ulanov twice led the Oilers in plus/minus for a season. His rating of plus-19 in 2003-04 was the highest single-season rating for any Edmonton blueliner between 1992-93 and 2015-16.
The Krasnokamsk native appeared in 160 regular season games and 11 playoff contests with the Oilers and is one of only five Russians to play in parts of at least four seasons with the team.
4. Andrei Kovalenko
While Andrei Kovalenko only really had one good full season in Edmonton, it was the best offensive campaign by a player from Russia in franchise history.
In 1996-97, Kovalenko totalled the most goals (32), power-play goals (14), and points (59) by a Russian in a single season with the Oilers. That season, he led Edmonton in power-play goals, while finishing second on the team in goals, behind only Ryan Smyth, and third on the Oilers in points, behind Doug Weight and Smyth. His scoring was a big part of Edmonton getting back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1997, following a four-year absence.
Kovalenko’s time with the Oilers came to an end midway through the 1998-99 season, when he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 29, 1999. At the time, he was third on the Oilers with 14 goals.
Among Russian players, Kovalenko is Edmonton’s all-time leader in regular season goals (51), tied for first in game-winning goals (seven) and shares third place for points (109).
3. Anatoli Semenov
Forward Anatoli Semenov became the first Russian to play for Edmonton when he suited up for the Oilers in Game 4 of the 1990 Campbell Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers would go on to capture their fifth championship that spring, making Semenov the second Russian in NHL history to play for a Stanley Cup winner.
Pretty much every “first by a Russian” in franchise history was accomplished by Semenov during the 1990-91 season, when he totalled 15 goals and 16 assists over 57 games with the Oilers, and the 1991 postseason when he chipped in with five goals and five assists as Edmonton advanced to the Campbell Conference Final. For his efforts, he received the Top First Year Oiler award.
The Moscow product continued to break ground in his second and final regular season with the Oilers, 1991-92, scoring 20 goals and adding 22 assists in 59 games. That made him the first Russian with a 20-goal campaign for the Oilers, a feat that has only been accomplished by two of his countrymen since.
With an average of 0.63 points per game over his two seasons with the Oilers, Semenov ranks first among all Russians to play at least 100 regular season games for Edmonton.
2. Nail Yakupov
Perhaps being one of the biggest busts in not only Oilers but NHL history should disqualify Nail Yakupov from this list: The No. 1 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft has played the fewest NHL regular season games of all first overall selections made between 1983 and 2020 and was out of the league by age 24.
But from a context excluding performance relative to draft position and is based simply on numbers, his place on this list is inarguable: the forward from Nizhnekamsk is second all-time among Russian players on the Oilers for games (252), goals (50) and points (111), and has the most even-strength points (79) by a player from Russia.
Of Yakupov’s four seasons in Edmonton, his best was the first, 2012-13, after he was made the top choice by the Oilers. That campaign (which was shortened to a 48-game schedule because of a lockout) saw Yakupov rank first among all NHL rookies and lead the Oilers with 17 goals, while also tying for the NHL rookie lead with 31 points. He shared the Top First Year Oiler award for 2012-13 with defenceman Justin Schultz.
1. Boris Mironov
No other Russian has been anywhere near as important for a significant period with the Oilers as Boris Mironov. The defenceman spent parts of six seasons with the Oilers and is the franchise’s all-time leader among players from Russia in regular season games (320), assists (118), points (160), and penalty minutes (444).
Mironov was traded to Edmonton by the Winnipeg Jets during his rookie season, 1993-94, and became the first player in NHL history to be named to the league’s All-Rookie team after playing for multiple teams.
The Moscow native was instrumental in the underdog Oilers’ back-to-back runs to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1997 and 1998. His total of 16 points over those two postseasons ranked second on the team in that span.
Mironov is the only Russian in team history to wear a letter, serving as an alternate captain in 1997-98, when he received the Oilers Defenceman of the Year award after recording a career-best 16 goals and a team-high 10 power-play goals.
Related: Can the Oilers Expect Vasily Podkolzin to Heat up After 1st Goal?
Podkolzin has got a long way to go, but if he continues to play like he has of late, the latest Russian Oiler might be part of this list when all is said and done.
