Vladislav Kolyachonok earns promotion to Penguins' top defense pair

Vladislav Kolyachonok was inches away — probably centimeters, actually — from scoring his first goal as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Late in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Penguins established some extended offensive zone time ahead of intermission, and Kolyachonok fired a close-range wrister on Ilya Samsonov in front of the crease.

With 18 seconds left on the clock, Kolyachonok’s shot hit the crossbar, failing to find the back of the net.

“It was a great rush,” the 23-year-old defenseman said of the sequence after the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win. “(Evgeni Malkin) found me in the middle of the lane, I kicked it out to (Kevin Hayes), (Hayes) gave it to (Malkin), just trying to split their (defense) down the middle. I stayed there, and no one (defended) me. Unfortunately, (the shot) hit inside the bar.”

Kolyachonok will have to wait for goal No. 1 with the Penguins, who scooped him off waivers from Utah Hockey Club on Feb. 9.

But for now, he can savor a new career high in time on ice (21 minutes, 44 seconds), a product of a more prominent deployment against Vegas, as coach Mike Sullivan slotted him next to Kris Letang to form the Penguins’ top defensive pairing.

Granted, that was borne partially from Tuesday’s revelation that fellow defenseman Ryan Shea was out week-to-week with an injury, with Kolyachonok taking Shea’s place of late beside Letang.

For the left-shooting Kolyachonok, Tuesday eclipsed the most NHL game action he’d seen dating to April 2022 when he was a rookie with the Arizona Coyotes.

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Kolyachonok appeared in 23 games for Utah this season, scoring two goals with three assists and averaging 12:20 while navigating lengthy stretches as a healthy scratch.

Originally a second-round (No. 52 overall) pick by the Florida Panthers in 2019, Kolyachonok played in 62 career NHL games over parts of four prior seasons.

But fast forward to now, as Kolyachonok continues to audition for a nightly role in the lineup, and Sullivan and his staff are intrigued.

“I think he’s competing hard,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to get him to simplify his game, defend well. The one thing that we really like about him is he’s a real good skater, he’s strong on pucks, his gaps are really good, he can close on people laterally really well and he’s physical. He’s not shy, and he’s willing to get into bodies. That’s just been our observation in the short time we’ve coached him.”

Some patience on the part of Kolyachonok was required upon joining the Penguins, as about three weeks passed between getting picked up off waivers and suiting up for the first time March 4.

Over that span, Sullivan said on several occasions that he wanted to get a better feel for Kolyachonok’s overall game.

Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was determined to take his practice reps seriously, acclimating himself to the Penguins’ style of play.

“You always want to play, but no matter what, you always have to be your best version, either practicing or playing,” he said. “I was getting ready for my chance. I was learning the structure watching teams we play. It’s a great foundation to play better.”

Before Tuesday, Kolyachonok’s deployment with the Penguins through three games had been on the club’s third defensive pairing.

While his place next to Letang, let alone a spot in the lineup, won’t be guaranteed, he’ll still hope to soak up as much as possible from the Penguins’ franchise pillar, a veteran of 1,147 NHL games.

“Feel good playing with him,” Kolyachonok said. “He’s a great teammate, he helps me there and he’s a great leader, great person. I think we’re getting on the same page.”

From the vantage point of management, Kolyachonok, signed to a two-way deal through 2025-26 at $775,000 annually, represents a low-cost asset acquired for free with plenty of upside, should he reach a fuller potential as compared to his Arizona and Utah days.

“There’s areas of his game obviously where we think he can improve and get better — just his decisions on when he joins the rush (and) his decisions when he activates off the offensive blue line,” Sullivan said. “I thought his puck decisions (Tuesday) were pretty calculated.

“He’s trying to simplify the game, and we’re encouraging him to simplify the game with respect to his puck possession. But obviously, he’s a young player and we’re excited about potentially where his game might go.”