Coyotes Recall Vladislav Kolyachonok, Re-Assign Maksymilian Szuber
The Arizona Coyotes are swapping a pair of defensemen this evening as they are recalling Vladislav Kolyachonok from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and re-assigning Maksymilian Szuber. Szuber was recalled from Tucson two nights ago and made his NHL debut last night against the Seattle Kraken, logging nearly 17 minutes and going -1. The 21-year-old didn’t look out of place as he registered a pair of hits, as well as a blocked shot, and a takeaway. The former sixth-round pick has had a surprisingly quick ascension to the NHL and could be in line for a longer look next season.
Kolyachonok has also seen just one game of NHL action this season, suffering an injury in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights back on November 25th. Despite the limited NHL minutes this season, the 22-year-old does have 35 career NHL games to his name, the bulk of which came in the 2021-22 season when he played 32 games as a 20-year-old. Kolyachonok has a goal and two assists over parts of three seasons and has struggled with turnovers in his young NHL career.
With Travis Dermott out of the lineup for the rest of the season, and Matt Dumba now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Coyotes will likely be looking at some of the young defensemen in their farm system as they close out the season. Given the prospects and draft picks that the Coyotes have available, they could have a very different-looking defensive core to start next season, one that Kolyachonok and Szuber would no doubt like to be part of.
Coyotes List Vladislav Kolyachonok As Week-To-Week
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.
Arizona Coyotes Recall Vladislav Kolyachonok
The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
Kolyachonok’s recall comes off the heels of a report from PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, who wrote that defenseman Juuso Välimäki will be out “for a while” after taking a hard shot to the face.
Kolyachonok, 22, is a defenseman who the Coyotes are decently familiar with at the NHL level, as he played in 32 games for the NHL club in 2021-22 and in two games last season. So far this year Kolyachonok has played exclusively in Tucson, where he has scored two goals and three points in 11 games.
With Välimäki out, Kolyachonok could slot in directly where Välimäki plays in the lineup, on the team’s second pairing next to Matt Dumba.
Alternatively, veteran Troy Stecher could move up to the second pairing, which would put Kolyachonok or team seventh defenseman Michael Kesselring on the bottom pairing next to Joshua Brown.
Snapshots: Ehlers, Arizona, Anaheim, Washington
Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers will be healthy for the team’s opening game against the Calgary Flames. The star has been dealing with neck spasms and wore a non-contact jersey through part of training camp. Ehlers missed multiple pre-season games, calling into question his availability for opening night, although it seems he’s mounted a recovery in the second half of camp.
Ehlers has had a closer relationship with injured reserve in recent years, spending six weeks on the list with a hernia last season. He scored 38 points in the 45 games he did appear in during the 2022-23 season. This was a 69-point scoring pace, which would have been the most points of Ehlers’ eight-year NHL career. His career totals are up to 523 games, 176 goals, and 396 points. His scoring is an important attribute of Winnipeg’s top-six. The team will hope he’s moved on from his injury bug as he suits up for the start of their 2023-24 campaign.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Arizona Coyotes have shifted some players around as they trim down to a final NHL roster. Michael Kesselring, Victor Soderstrom, Vladislav Kolyachonok, and Zach Sanford have all been assigned to Tuscon in the AHL.
- Anaheim has assigned Andrew Agozzino and Alex Stalock, both NHL veterans, to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
- The Washington Capitals have made a series of moves, assigning Max Pacioretty to long-term injured reserve, Joel Edmundson to injured reserve, and Hardy Haman Aktell, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael to Hershey in the AHL. They have also recalled Riley Sutter to the NHL roster.
West Notes: Coyotes, Blueger, Beauvillier
After sending them down to AHL Tucson earlier in the week, the Arizona Coyotes announced Sunday they’ve recalled defensemen Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok. The 23-year-old and 22-year-old defensemen, respectively, combined for 11 games played in the NHL last season.
Arizona makes the recalls as they battle injury uncertainty with some of their defensemen. Head coach André Tourigny told PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan earlier Sunday that multiple defenders were “dinged” up in Saturday’s 7-1 preseason drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks. Carrying Kesselring and Kolyachonok on the active roster for now gives the Coyotes some flexibility as they make their final roster choices ahead of Monday’s opening night roster deadline. Arizona must submit a cap-compliant roster of no more than 23 players before 4 p.m. CT tomorrow. That roster limit may have precipitated today’s choice to send forward Dylan Guenther, who does not require waivers, to AHL Tucson. While the team has not issued a comment, it may be that the Coyotes plan on carrying 12 forwards and nine defensemen when they submit their roster tomorrow to account for the uncertainty surrounding some of their defenders’ availability for Friday’s season opener against the New Jersey Devils. With Kesselring and Kolyachonok in the ranks, the Coyotes are now carrying ten defenders, so it’s likely one of them will return to Tucson within the next 24 hours.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference this weekend:
- Vancouver Canucks forward Teddy Blueger is sidelined on a day-to-day basis with an undisclosed bruise, which left him off the ice today for practice. That wasn’t Blueger’s idea, however, as head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Randip Janda that he didn’t want to risk exacerbating the Latvian pivot’s injury. The Canucks’ regular season opener is in three days against the Edmonton Oilers, and the offseason free-agent addition is expected to make his Vancouver debut centering the fourth line. Blueger, 29, recorded 16 points in 63 contests last year split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights, for whom Blueger was the 13th forward en route to their first Stanley Cup championship.
- Sticking with Vancouver, winger Anthony Beauvillier is also currently absent from the team’s practice ranks thanks to a bout with the flu. He is day-to-day and, as it stands, could miss the season opener Wednesday. The Canucks, who are currently roster juggling to maximize the potential LTIR relief from defenseman Tucker Poolman‘s contract, will need clarity on Beauvillier’s status after tomorrow’s roster deadline to make any corresponding recalls from AHL Abbotsford.
Coyotes Assign Three To AHL
The Coyotes have made a trio of roster moves following their game last night against Carolina, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defensemen Vladislav Kolyachonok and Michael Kesselring plus forward Milos Kelemen to AHL Tucson.
Kolyachonok is the most experienced of the three at the NHL level, making 34 career appearances with the Coyotes although only two of those have come this season. The 21-year-old has spent most of the year with the Roadrunners, picking up 14 points and 52 penalty minutes in 54 games. He has one year left on this one on his entry-level deal.
As for Kesselring, he’s new to the organization after coming over from Edmonton as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade earlier this week. He made his NHL debut last night after spending the full season in the minors with AHL Bakersfield prior to the swap. After picking up 13 points in his rookie pro campaign, the 23-year-old had 13 goals and nine assists with the Condors in 49 games this season. He also has one season left on his entry-level pact.
Kelemen, meanwhile, is in his first season in North America after signing a two-year, entry-level deal with the Coyotes back in May. He played his second NHL contest last night and has also been with the Roadrunners for most of the season, tallying 13 goals and 13 assists in 52 games.
While Arizona added Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey at the deadline yesterday, neither player was available to suit up against the Hurricanes which resulted in Kesselring and Kelemen being brought up yesterday to fill out their roster. The newcomers should be available to suit up on Sunday against New Jersey.