The Coyotes announced Monday that defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok is out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis with a lower-body injury. No corresponding transaction has been made. However, PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan notes that injured defenders Mathew Dumba and Travis Dermott practiced with the team today and could return to the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Lightning. Dermott is on injured reserve and must be activated before returning to play.
Kolyachonok sustained the injury on a hit from Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault midway through the second period of Saturday’s 2-0 win. The 22-year-old Belarusian defender, who was making his season debut, skated just 6:09 through the first half of the game and did not return. Arizona recalled him earlier in the month after injuries to Dermott and Juuso Välimäki. However, he was a healthy scratch for four games to begin his first recall of the season.
A 2019 second-round pick of the Panthers, the Coyotes acquired Kolyachonok as a sweetener in the July 2021 trade that saw Arizona receive aging defender Anton Strålman, whom the Panthers no longer had cap space to afford. A puck-mover by nature, he’s failed to truly jump out in the NHL or AHL but remains on track to be a dependable long-term call-up option at minimum. He has 35 NHL games with the Coyotes, although 32 came in the 2021-22 season. The Coyotes stashed him in the minors for all but two games in 2022-23.
Kolyachonok was off to a decent start with the Tucson Roadrunners before his call-up, recording just three points in 11 games but had a +5 rating that is still tied for the team lead. He was the most polished call-up option to provide low-risk depth minutes for a Coyotes team that fully intends to make noise in the Western Conference Wild Card race.