Penguins claim Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers

The Penguins claimed defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok from Utah off of waivers on Sunday. Kolyachonok, 23, was a second round draft pick in 2019 of the Florida Panthers but all his NHL experience (62 games) has come with the Arizona/Utah franchise.

Kolyachonok has played 23 games this year for Utah, scoring two goals and adding three assists, averaging just 12:20 in ice time. The left shot defender is listed at 6’2” and 195 pounds. He’s had some decent advanced metrics in his small sample but hasn’t gotten much help from his goaltending.

Kolyachonok has some wheels, it’s difficult to imagine many Penguin left side defenders having the audacity and ability to make a rush like this, and then convert.

The NHL’s trade deadline is less than a month and Pittsburgh has already sent out Marcus Pettersson. He won’t be the last departure. Getting a young player like Kolyachonok to boost the depth for the rest of the season will be a necessary feature for a team in Pittsburgh that figures to look to move a veteran like Matt Grzelcyk before the deadline if they can.