The Penguins who aren’t taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off returned to practice on Tuesday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex after nine days away from the rink.
“It's a long season, and a lot of the guys have families, so it gives them time to be with their families and then just reset,” said assistant coach Mike Vellucci, handling media duties while head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn are behind the bench for Team USA.
It also gave defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok more time than usual to get situated with his new organization after being claimed from the Utah Hockey Club on Super Bowl Sunday.
“I was super excited to find out Pittsburgh picked me up,” said the 23-year-old blueliner. “Legendary organization. Lots of good players here. Only (heard) positive things.”
Originally drafted by Florida in the second round (52nd overall) in 2019, Kolyachonok has played parts of four seasons in the NHL split between the Arizona Coyotes and Utah. He has 150 games of American Hockey League experience with Tucson and Syracuse and 62 games of NHL experience.
Kolyachonok, one of just 17 players all-time from Belarus to play in the NHL, appeared in 23 contests with Utah this season.
“I just tried to be my best version every day, no matter what,” he said. “Either playing in games or being scratched. Just, I was preparing myself to have a chance either there or somewhere else.”
Kolyachonok, a left-handed shot who said he’s comfortable on either side, described that best version of himself as “a two-way defenseman... but I'll do whatever coaches tell me to do to be helpful to the team.”
Vellucci’s first impression of the 6-foot-2, 195-pound defenseman was his smooth skating. “I noticed that today, and we watched a little bit of video on him,” Vellucci said. “He’s a good defender, so I think that's going to play into our scheme. We like to squeeze and play the entries that way, so, I think he's going to be a good fit for us.”
Kolyachonok has three more days of practice to learn the Penguins’ schemes and systems, but it sounds like they won’t go by fast enough.
“I’m super excited to be here. It's a new story, new page. So, can't wait to play, and just want to be on the ice as soon as possible,” Kolyachonok said with a laugh.
INJURY/LINEUP NOTES
Vellucci said Evgeni Malkin was “full go” after missing the last six games before the break with a lower-body injury. He had been listed as week-to-week after getting hurt on Jan. 25 in Seattle.
Bryan Rust had been sidelined for Pittsburgh’s final contest on Feb. 8 in Philadelphia, but Sullivan said at the time he anticipated the winger being ready to play coming out of the break - which appears to be the case.
“They're two of our better players, obviously. So, it's great to have them back,” Vellucci said. “I thought today, they looked really good, both of them. Their execution was pretty good today. I’m sure their lungs were hurting a little bit, but the rest of their game looked really good.”
Boko Imama remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on Feb. 7 in New York.
At 4 Nations, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell competed for Sweden, who got eliminated on Monday. Rakell couldn’t go due to illness. Vellucci said both players will get some well-deserved time off before returning to practice in Pittsburgh, and that “they’ll probably be here Friday.”
The Penguins host Washington on Saturday afternoon and the Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
