Arizona Coyotes prospect Vladislav Kolyachonok is turning heads in the organization and is a player who may be on the main roster as early as this season. His skill set is something that other rookie defensemen in the pipeline do not have, which puts him at the top of the list.
Coyotes’ Kolyachonok Ready for His Shot
The 6-foot-1 and 203-pound defenseman began his hockey career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights. He would play a single game with the Knights before getting claimed on waivers by the Flint Firebirds on Oct. 2, 2018. Kolyachonok finished a strong season with four goals and 29 assists for 33 points in 53 games. He scored his first OHL goal as part of a four-point night as Flint defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 6-4 on Jan. 5, 2019.
Kolyachonok played internationally for Belarus at the U18 and World Junior Championships, Division 1A, from 2018-2020, totaling two goals and six assists for eight points and 10 penalty minutes in 12 games. He would play in the OHL during the 2019-20 season with Flint, scoring 12 goals and assisting 21 assists for 33 points and 22 penalty minutes in 53 games.
During that time, he would sign a three-year, entry-level contract on Sept. 13, 2019. He would play 107 games in the OHL, scoring 16 goals and 47 assists for 63 points and 66 penalty minutes. His dream would come alive when he was drafted by the Florida Panthers 52nd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.
After the time of the signing, the world would enter the pandemic in the 2020-21 season, limiting his chance to play in the United States. He took his services overseas and played in Belarus with HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), contributing one goal and five assists for six points and 18 penalty minutes in 46 games.
Shortly thereafter, Kolyachonok was traded by the Panthers with Anton Stralman and a second-round pick in 2024 to the Arizona Coyotes for a seventh-round pick in 2023 (Stepan Zvyagin) on July 26, 2021. He would then spend time with the Coyotes American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, during the 2021-22 season, recording two goals and 12 assists for 14 points and 10 penalty minutes in 33 games.
He would impress management enough to earn his first NHL call-up on Jan. 11, 2022. He would then make his NHL debut the next night on Jan. 12, 2022, in a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kolyachonok has spent most of his pro career in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch and Tucson. He has seven goals and 33 assists for 40 points, 68 penalty minutes, and is a +15 during that time. During the 2022-23 season with Tucson, he had three goals and 18 assists for 21 points, 52 penalty minutes, and was a +7 in 71 games. This season for the Tucson Roadrunners, he has two goals and one assist for three points, six penalty minutes, and a +5 in 11 games.
Kolyachonok earned his first NHL point, an assist, in his fifth game on a Barrett Hayton goal in the second period of a 3-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings. His first NHL goal came on a blast from the high slot, high glove side, against the Calgary Flames and Jacob Markstrom. His NHL totals are one goal and two assists for three points in 34 games.
He plays with a mean streak yet is a mobile defenseman who can carry the puck through the zone with speed. Kolyachonok is a 200-foot player with great positioning and an active stick in the defensive zone. He is sound defensively but can create offense due to him jumping in the offensive zone whenever he chooses to.
Kolyachonok is a restricted free agent after this season. General manager Bill Armstrong would be wise to give him a new deal based on his potential and how far he has developed since his pro debut. He has made a few stops in the NHL with Arizona before and is poised and ready to make that his place sooner rather than later. He has great promise, is a good two-way defenseman who plays a physical game, can contribute at both ends of the ice, and is young.
With the Coyotes still developing as a team, Kolyachonok is one player that needs to be locked up long-term. As the only defenseman in the pipeline who shoots left and can be a future power-play quarterback, he has the potential to be Jakob Chychrun’s replacement. He has all of the attributes and skills that a team looks for and has excelled at every place he has played, and the Coyotes would be no different. He could be a good, young defenseman with promise that could be a cornerstone player as Arizona gains traction in the NHL.