Claimed:Bogdan Podarok - Nothing for Granted [Reviewed]

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Bogdan Podarok - Nothing for Granted

 

Early Life: The Slums of St. Petersburg

Bogdan Podarok was born on April 10, 1997, to a poor family. His father Ibrahim and mother Alexandra. His mother, however, was a drunk and died at an early age due to liver failure. So young Bogdan grew up in the slums of St. Petersburg with only his father. Ibrahim struggled to put food on the table for the family and many nights the Podaroks went to bed hungry. Ibrahim was a standout prospect for Kazan in the VHL(the Russian junior league, not this site), but when he went to the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg, he fell flat on his face. He was left without a job and with really no skills besides hockey, so he had to scrape out a living in whatever menial job would hire him. Ibrahim desperately wanted his son to success where he had failed, and despite financial strain he put him on junior hockey teams when he turned 5.

 

In the Russian youth leagues, Podarok quickly learned the game. When he was 6 he was already playing against the top 8 year olds in his city, and at 7, he was the best player of the St. Petersburg U8 league. The next year he was to play for the St. Petersburg North U11 team. Podarok led all 9 year olds in points and by his 10 year old season, where he was named MVP, he had KHL scouts taking notice. When Bogdan turned 11 he had a scary moment in his career when he was tripped on a play and slammed headfirst into the boards. Podarok got up disoriented and was suspected to have a concussion. Luckily the concussion was found to be minor. The young Podarok then went on to destroy the league in the last half of the season and despite playing 2/3 of the season games, he finished 3rd in scoring. When Podarok hit 12, a man came up to him after a practice. "How are you, Bogdan?" Sergei Zubov, head coach of SKA St. Petersburg, said, "how would you like to play for SKA St. Petersburg's junior team?"

 

Juniors Career: Grinding it out for SKA

the 12 year Podarok reported to SKA's U15 team as the youngest player in the whole league. This wasn't a walk in the park like everything else had been for Podarok, as the competition was bigger and better. Bogdan struggled in his first season in big junior competition, scoring only 12 points in his first 31 games. It was not easy for the kid to take. As a little kid in his city, he was always one of the best, but now he was stacked up against people who would be future pro stars, and he wasn't an instant success.

 

Ibrahim saw that his son was struggling. Luckily, he had been there before. He reassured his son, telling him "don't count the games where you don't score, count the games that you do. You're beating future studs that are 3 years older than you, that's something to be proud of." Bogdan was not so assured, he still thought he was failing at hockey, so he and his dad worked drills whenever he could. He even scheduled some workouts with Coach Zubov from the big time club. The offseason was all work for the young Podarok

 

And boy did it pay off. Bogdan led the U15 team in scoring, though it was a low year for the franchise. Podarok's 34 points in 38 games was good enough for 17th best in the whole league. Podarok was excited to be good again, and was ready to take the next step. Unfortunately the club decided it was best for Bogdan to spend one last year in U15 before going up to U18 and then, hopefully, the KHL. In his last season in the under 15's, Podarok shattered records. His 61 points in 42 games was 7 more than the previous season high. It was clear that he was ready to go to the U18 league.

 

Bogdan Podarok turned heads with his performance in U15 hockey

 

In SKA's U18 affiliate, 16 year old Podarok started off once again weak, but this time was worse than when he was 12. Due to nagging a ankle issues and limited ice time, Bogdan hit a new low with 7 points in 27 games. This time, however, the kid was not discouraged. He knew he had been there before, and he was prepared to work even harder this time. Him and his father worked drills again, and he met with the team physician twice a week to get his ankle back to 100%. He was determined to make it to the big club the next year.

 

And he did just that. Bogdan came back with a vengeance, playing all 45 games and scoring 38 points, good for 2nd on the team and 9th in the league. Podarok got the call from Zubov saying to report to the team's KHL training camp next offseason. Bogdan was so excited, he ran home to his house to tell his father. When he got to his house, the door was busted in and left ajar. Ibrahim Podarok, age 43, was found dead, shot twice in the chest, as the result of an armed robbery. The 17 year old Bogdan was thankfully able to find shelter with his friend Alexei and his family in a much better area of the city, but his heart was crushed.

 

Hockey had lost its joy for Podarok after his father's death. He was the one who taught him how to skate, taught him how to shootout, taught him how to deke. His favorite times were always with his father when they would go over fundamentals and Ibrahim would correct his form and teach him how to play like a KHL pro. Now that that was all gone, Bogdan didn't know if he wanted to even play the sport anymore, so he went to Zubov and planned to tell him that he was leaving the game. Zubov was taken aback! "Son, I understand your upset about your father", Zubov said, "but do you really think he would want this? Your father loved hockey, and he loved you. He wanted you to be the player he never was, the player he could have been." Bogdan took this to heart. Instead of leaving the game, Podarok worked harder than ever, spending almost all his time in the film room, on the rink, or on the backyard patio with some roller skates.

 

when late August rolled around, the SKA training camp began. Podarok wasn't supposed to make the roster, but people hadn't seen all the work he had put in over the off-season. Podarok skated on the 6th line of the practice squad and still managed to impress. Bogdan made the pre-season roster, but was still on the hot seat, considering he still had a year of U18 eligibility left. But after his monster preseason performance (3 goals and 2 assists in 3 games), he could not be denied his place on the SKA St. Petersburg's KHL roster. Podarok had finally made it to the big time!

 

The KHL: A Champion of Russia

Podarok started his KHL career on the 4th line, like you would expect a 17 making his pro debut to do. Before his first game, Bogdan and other newcomer's jerseys were lost on their way to be dropped off at the Ice Palace, so he was not able to wear his number 19, like he had all his junior career. Podarok rushed home and grabbed his father's old number 17 jersey from his short stint with SKA. It was a little big for him, but there was no way Bogdan was going into his first pro game without his name on his back. With his father's jersey on, Podarok scored a goal and an assist in his KHL debut. He was spectacular in his play and looked like a sure fire KHL staple.

 

Bogdan got his number 19 jersey back the next day, but his mojo was lost. Podarok went pointless for the next 12 games and ended up being benched for a multitude of games. At that moment Bogdan decided to change his number to 17 and wear his father's number in his honor. After that, Podarok got his touch back. Over the rest of the season, Bogdan played in 27 of the remaining 29 season games and scored 11 goals and 15 assists. His end season totals of 12 goals and 16 assists in 40 games was very good for a KHL rookie, and he was rewarded with a spot on the 3rd line for SKA St. Petersburg's playoff run

 

Podarok's playoff heroics, especially against CSKA Moskow, propelled SKA St. Petersburg to win the Gagarin Cup

 

In the KHL playoffs, Podarok went on a tear. He was a non-factor in the first round, where they beat Nizhny Novgorod 4 games to 1, but he scored 2 goals and an assist in the second round when they also went 4-1 against Dinamo Minsk. In the Western Conference finals against CSKA Moscow, however, the full force of Bogdan Podarok was felt. In the eventual 4-3 series win, Podarok scored 6 goals and garnered 4 assists to propel his team past the top seeded Western Conference team. In the Gagarin Cup finals against Ak Bars Kazan, SKA easily took care of them in 5 games, and Bogdan netted three assists as well as the only goal in the decisive game 5 of the series. Podaroks totals for the playoffs that year were 9 goals and 8 assists in all 22 games.

 

The VHLM: WJC to Saskatoon to Bratislava

After his great performance in the KHL, Bogdan was invited to play on the second line of the Russian World Junior Championship team. Podarok played well for the silver medal winning Russian squad, scoring a goal and getting 4 assists in 6 of the 7 games the Russian squad played. While he was there, he caught the eye of a certain Finnish scout who happened to be the GM of the Saskatoon Wild in the VHLM. Ahma met with the 18 year old Bogdan and offered him a contract to play for the Wild. Bogdan was so excited about the offer: he never thought he would make it to the VHLM!

 

In season S46, his first as a VHLM player, Podarok had some subpar numbers. In only 19 games he scored one goal and got 7 assists. In the playoffs, where the Wild were swept, he scored one goal and got no assists. It wasnt all bad for Podarok though. His first season required adjusting and Podarok gained great knowledge about the league that would help him later on in his career

 

Podarok was selected 10th overall by the Bratislava Watchmen in the S47 VHLM Dispersal Draft. He has been going much better this year, so far he has 11 goals and 9 assists in 18 games, as well as an impressive 37 blocked shots. He just needs 2 more games to have already broken every career high he set for himself in S46. Bogdan has been shooting up the draft boards with his strong play of late, even in the face of the Watchmen's recent struggles. Podarok hopes to continue his strong play for Bratislava and maybe even lead them to a Founders' Cup victory.

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Feedback:

You meet the word mark, and it's a pretty fantastic biography. Podarok was great in the KHL, and I think one day he will be amazing in the VHL.

[Tim 182]

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