The Penguins' recent waiver claim might be Kyle Dubas' best move yet

Yesterday Kyle Dubas made a sneaky good waiver claim for Utah Hockey Club defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok. He is one of eight NHL players to come out of Belarus and has logged the third most games in the NHL out of that list.

A former second round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2019, Kolachonok got his start in the NHL with the now defunct Arizona Coyotes, playing 32 games in 2021-22 at just 20 years-old.

He has averaged third defenseman pairing time on ice in his 62 career games, and while he offensive numbers aren't much to write home about (4 goals, 8 assists), his profile is what makes him an intriguing pickup.

His situation in Utah

Sometimes goaltenders and defensemen get blamed for something the other does when it comes to teams letting up goals, and Utah has been doing that a lot this season.

The Hockey Club (get a name please so we can actually call you something) is middle of the road in every defensive and goaltending stat this season. The kicker is that Karel Vejmelka has been very slightly above average in net while Connor Ingram has been on par with 2024 Tristan Jarry.

So, when considering the defensive contributions of Kolyachonok, it's a mixed bag that could be skewed with how polarizing the Utah goaltending has been.

Kolyachonok's Profile

Here's the crazy thing about this waiver claim: Utah fans are livid that he was placed on waivers in the first place.

His career numbers are unassuming, but hockey is such a subjective sport that the hard, objective numbers don't always tell the whole story.

Take a look at his projections here.

The picture on the right is a graph that accounts for expected goals on shots while also factoring in the innate finishing ability of players. What it says about Kolyachonok is that whenever goalies see him coming, they turn into prime Martin Brodeur.

Just watch this move and tell me that he can't score goals.

This is 1-on-2 against Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm, one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL. Then he goes power-forward roof-job on Jeremy Swayman. You would think that based on this clip he does this all the time, but, again, goalies rise to the occasion against him at a laughable rate.

We're talking historical levels of unluckiness for Kolyachonok.

The other trait about him that the Penguins desperately need is burst and speed. While he is slightly below average league-wise in burst, he sustains his highest speeds over the course of a game at a rate behind just a handful of players.

The Penguins defensive structure banks on positioning over speed, and often positioning breaks down in such a way that speed can't compensate for when mistakes happen. This is the exact reason why the Penguins give up so many odd-man rushes that end in goals.

Kolyachonok with his sustained pace of play as well as his youth is instantly one of the faster skaters on the Penguins, a trait that has desperately been needed for a while. Watch the highlight above again to see how his burst sustains through his glide and move to the net.

Kolyachonok's Work Ethic

The identifiable downside to Kolyachonok at this juncture of his career seems to be his defense, however, at just 23 years-old, he has displayed his willingness to improve and work on his craft.

Going back to his previous situation with Utah, it seems like their development program is much maligned for players of Kolyachonok's caliber - good player with promise, but not enough pre-existing talent to make him a top prospect.

Combine his work ethic with a Penguins staff eager to develop a promising player, and you've got an NHL projectable defenseman who could spearhead the youth movement for Pittsburgh.

I can't wait for him to start scoring goals in bunches and having to spend 15 minutes making sure I spell his name right in a tweet. Solid move, Mr. Dubas.