Vasili Podkolzin shot up the rankings with his performance at the 2018 Hlinka/Gretzky Cup. He burst onto the scene, showed he could dominate his age group, recorded 11 points in five games, and captured the imagination with this beautiful goal.
In the sequence, he saw the neutral zone open in front of him, accelerated between blue lines, and split the defence before roofing the puck from his knees — shades of the skilled power forwards of previous NHL eras.
Podkolzin made it clear he had great offensive capabilities in the tournament. The event seemed to set the prospect up for a huge season in the Russian Junior league, something that would only be interrupted by further strong play in international tournaments.