Penguins A to Z: Vladislav Kolyachonok's potential will give him a chance

With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason for a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 56 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with Noel Acciari and going on through to Philip Tomasino (regrettably, there is no Z on the payroll), every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published Mondays through Saturdays leading up until June 24, four days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Vladislav Kolyachonok

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 23

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 194 pounds

2024-25 NHL statistics: 35 games, seven points (two goals, five assists), 13:01 of average ice time per contest

Contract: In the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. Pending restricted free agent in 2026.

(The first year of this contract is a two-way deal while the second year is one-way.)

Acquired: Waivers claim, Feb. 9, 2025

This season: During his first offseason with the Penguins in 2023, president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas made it known he wouldn’t be hesitant to utilize waivers to augment his roster.

That notion held true in the 2023-24 season as Dubas added the likes of Jansen Harkins, John Ludvig and Matthew Phillips to varying success.

Dubas wasn’t quite as active with waivers in 2024-25 and his lone addition through that avenue was Vladislav Kolyachonok.

A relatively high draft pick (second round – No. 52 overall) by the Florida Panthers in 2019, Kolyachonok has existed on the fringes of the NHL through the intrigue he offers, at least more so than through actual results.

One of the refugees from the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes franchise, Kolyachonok made the transition with teammates to the new Utah Hockey Club this offseason, after signing with that team as a pending restricted free agent June 25, 2024.

Opening the season on the left side of Utah’s third pairing, Kolyachonok was a steady presence in the team’s first 12 games of the season, posting four points (one goal, three assists) over that span.

L’ÉGALISATION DE KOLYACHONOK FACE AUX BRUINS ????

pic.twitter.com/HhRIc2gGNa

— WE ARE HOCKEY (@WeAreHockeyFR) October 20, 2024

By Nov. 5, a common pattern began for Kolyachonok as he was a healthy scratch for 15 of the next 16 games.

When injuries began to pockmark Utah’s blue line, Kolyachonok got back in the lineup, skating in 10 of a possible 12 games between Dec. 12 and Jan. 8. But after that stretch, he was a healthy scratch for 16 consecutive games.

With the intention of assigning him Tucson of the American Hockey League, Utah waived Kolyachonok on Feb. 8, only to see the Penguins claim him the next day.

New surroundings did not lead to new opportunity immediately for Kolyachonok who was a healthy scratch in six games before making his debut with the Penguins on March 4.

Initially placed on the Penguins’ third pairing, Kolyachonok eventually got promoted to the top pairing next to All-Star Kris Letang as an experiment.

In his first 11 games with the Penguins, Kolyachonok collected two assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Joona Koppanen with 15:20 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kris Letang.

Pittsburgh: 1
New York: 0#NYIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Isles pic.twitter.com/DQVNhalayd

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 18, 2025

But he was back to being a healthy scratch by March 30. Following a seven-game stretch of sitting, Kolyachonok finished 2024-25 by skating in the Penguins’ regular season finale, a 5-2 home win against the Washington Capitals.

The future: In his season-ending media availability on April 21, Dubas stated a need to improve the left side of the blue line going into this offseason.

Kolyachonok, who turns 24 on Monday, would certainly appear to be a candidate to aid that pursuit.

Capable of playing either side of a pairing — he actually started more games (18) on the right than the left (17) this past season — Kolyachonok has all the base skills to be a puck-moving defenseman in the modern NHL, even if only on the bottom pairing.

But considering he was a healthy scratch for a combined 45 games between two non-playoff teams, it’s safe to say there is room for plenty of improvement.

The potential Kolyachonok still offers will give him a chance to establish himself as a steady NHLer next season on a team seeking to improve its blue line.