The Penguins made some changes to their defense pairings this afternoon, bumping Vladislav Kolyachonok to the third pairing alongside Ryan Graves and elevating Conor Timmins to the top pairing with Kris Letang.
It's not surprising, based on what happened last game: Kolyachonok was effectively benched in the third period in Tuesday's loss to the Islanders, only seeing three shifts in the final frame -- the shift to open the period that resulted in a Letang turnover and the Islanders' first goal, then one more shift midway through the third and one in the final minute.
Both Tuesday's swap and today's, somehow, led to outrage for fans: There's a lot of anger that Kolyachonok is somehow getting blamed for Letang's turnover, and there's this notion that a great young player is getting screwed.
Reality: Kolyachonok hasn't been that good. He was great to start in a third-pairing role with Vincent Desharnais. He was elevated to the top pairing after Ryan Shea's injury, and still got that opportunity even when the results started to take a turn. And now that Timmins actually has been playing well in his role, there's nothing wrong with rewarding him for that. In fact, it should be encouraged.
Some data to back up the notion that Kolyachonok has started to struggle:
• The Penguins have used 13 different defensemen this year. Kolyachonok has played seven games, and the Penguins' share of controlling 45% of the shot attempts with Kolyachonok on the ice at five-on-five is the worst of any of the defensemen they've used.
• Looking at unblocked shot attempts, Kolyachonok's on-ice share is 38.66% -- that's 10th of the 13. The only defensemen below him are Shea (injured), Jack St. Ivany (in the AHL) and Owen Pickering (in the AHL).
• Narrowing that down to only shots on goal, Kolyachonok's on-ice share of 44.57% is the second-worst of the 13, better than only St. Ivany. That comes from a rate of 31.8 shots on goal against per 60 minutes of ice time with Kolyachonok out there, the worst of any of the defensemen.
• None of that can be explained by Kolyachonok having a harder deployment zone-wise. He sees 42.86% of his shifts start in the offensive zone, the sixth-highest share of any of the defensemen and the fifth-highest of defensemen currently on the team.
• Kolyachonok has the second-highest rate of personal giveaways on the team at 4.36/60, trailing only Erik Karlsson's 4.96.
• While Karlsson makes up for the giveaways with a decent takeaway rate of 1.32/60, Kolyachonok's rate of takeaways is zero. Zero. None.
I'm not trying to bury Kolyachonok. He's 23, he's very young. His start in Pittsburgh showed that he does have some potential. The results above are why he shouldn't be getting top-pairing minutes just yet. He's not being "punished" for a turnover he didn't make. The coaching staff is reacting appropriately to a situation that hasn't been working.
Mike Sullivan this afternoon was asked about how he balances trying to put the best lineup on the ice while also managing young players trying to prove themselves, without naming Kolyachonok specifically.
"I think players have to earn their opportunity," he said. "So for me, they go hand in hand. We're going to put the guys on the ice that are deserving of being in the lineup that we think give us the best chance to win. Performance matters, and those that play well will be rewarded with further play. I think that's a great message for all of our players that no one's entitled to ice time. You have to earn that through performance and effort and attitude and execution."
Does someone like Kolyachonok get less leeway for mistakes than guys like Letang and Karlsson? Sure. But that's because Letang and Karlsson absolutely still have the capability to turn a game around for the better and make an impact in a way that Kolyachonok doesn't yet have. His mistakes shouldn't be treated the same, because he doesn't bring the same positive impact those two do.
Again, Kolyachonok is young. He's signed through next season, too. He'll continue to develop, and he can still do that in a third-pairing role. A waiver pickup just coming in and being handed a permanent top-pairing job shouldn't be expected. I understand that fans want young players to do well so they can be part of the next wave that gets the Penguins out of this retool. I understand that Kolyachonok created excitement by having a good start since the waiver claim. But things change, development isn't always linear, and it's not productive to get latched onto an idea of what a player is and refuse to adapt those perceptions based on what is actually happening.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
6:55 pm - 03.20.2025Cranberry, Pa.Haase: Kolyachonok has been just OK
The Penguins made some changes to their defense pairings this afternoon, bumping Vladislav Kolyachonok to the third pairing alongside Ryan Graves and elevating Conor Timmins to the top pairing with Kris Letang.
It's not surprising, based on what happened last game: Kolyachonok was effectively benched in the third period in Tuesday's loss to the Islanders, only seeing three shifts in the final frame -- the shift to open the period that resulted in a Letang turnover and the Islanders' first goal, then one more shift midway through the third and one in the final minute.
Both Tuesday's swap and today's, somehow, led to outrage for fans: There's a lot of anger that Kolyachonok is somehow getting blamed for Letang's turnover, and there's this notion that a great young player is getting screwed.
Reality: Kolyachonok hasn't been that good. He was great to start in a third-pairing role with Vincent Desharnais. He was elevated to the top pairing after Ryan Shea's injury, and still got that opportunity even when the results started to take a turn. And now that Timmins actually has been playing well in his role, there's nothing wrong with rewarding him for that. In fact, it should be encouraged.
Some data to back up the notion that Kolyachonok has started to struggle:
• The Penguins have used 13 different defensemen this year. Kolyachonok has played seven games, and the Penguins' share of controlling 45% of the shot attempts with Kolyachonok on the ice at five-on-five is the worst of any of the defensemen they've used.
• Looking at unblocked shot attempts, Kolyachonok's on-ice share is 38.66% -- that's 10th of the 13. The only defensemen below him are Shea (injured), Jack St. Ivany (in the AHL) and Owen Pickering (in the AHL).
• Narrowing that down to only shots on goal, Kolyachonok's on-ice share of 44.57% is the second-worst of the 13, better than only St. Ivany. That comes from a rate of 31.8 shots on goal against per 60 minutes of ice time with Kolyachonok out there, the worst of any of the defensemen.
• None of that can be explained by Kolyachonok having a harder deployment zone-wise. He sees 42.86% of his shifts start in the offensive zone, the sixth-highest share of any of the defensemen and the fifth-highest of defensemen currently on the team.
• Kolyachonok has the second-highest rate of personal giveaways on the team at 4.36/60, trailing only Erik Karlsson's 4.96.
• While Karlsson makes up for the giveaways with a decent takeaway rate of 1.32/60, Kolyachonok's rate of takeaways is zero. Zero. None.
I'm not trying to bury Kolyachonok. He's 23, he's very young. His start in Pittsburgh showed that he does have some potential. The results above are why he shouldn't be getting top-pairing minutes just yet. He's not being "punished" for a turnover he didn't make. The coaching staff is reacting appropriately to a situation that hasn't been working.
Mike Sullivan this afternoon was asked about how he balances trying to put the best lineup on the ice while also managing young players trying to prove themselves, without naming Kolyachonok specifically.
"I think players have to earn their opportunity," he said. "So for me, they go hand in hand. We're going to put the guys on the ice that are deserving of being in the lineup that we think give us the best chance to win. Performance matters, and those that play well will be rewarded with further play. I think that's a great message for all of our players that no one's entitled to ice time. You have to earn that through performance and effort and attitude and execution."
Does someone like Kolyachonok get less leeway for mistakes than guys like Letang and Karlsson? Sure. But that's because Letang and Karlsson absolutely still have the capability to turn a game around for the better and make an impact in a way that Kolyachonok doesn't yet have. His mistakes shouldn't be treated the same, because he doesn't bring the same positive impact those two do.
Again, Kolyachonok is young. He's signed through next season, too. He'll continue to develop, and he can still do that in a third-pairing role. A waiver pickup just coming in and being handed a permanent top-pairing job shouldn't be expected. I understand that fans want young players to do well so they can be part of the next wave that gets the Penguins out of this retool. I understand that Kolyachonok created excitement by having a good start since the waiver claim. But things change, development isn't always linear, and it's not productive to get latched onto an idea of what a player is and refuse to adapt those perceptions based on what is actually happening.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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