The year is 2021. The Arizona Coyotes are entering the 2021-22 season in full rebuild mode and with a new head coach, André Tourigny. Looking to pile up draft picks, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong agreed to take on aging defenseman Anton Strålman‘s contract from the Florida Panthers, along with defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok and a 2024 second-round selection, for a 2023 seventh-round pick.
The move benefitted the Panthers who removed the 34-year-old’s last year on his $5.5 million average annual value (AAV) deal from their books. However, over time, the Utah Hockey Club has also profited from the trade.
Coyotes and Utah’s Gain
Defensive defenseman Strålman finished eighth on the Coyotes in scoring with 23 points in 2021-22. The right-handed shot also ranked in the top five on the team in blocks, hits, and takeaways. His minus-16 was no surprise as the team ranked last in the league in goals for and second to last in goals against.
The Swedish native ranked third in ice time in his first and only season in the desert. Overall, Strålman provided veteran leadership (he replaced Clayton Keller as an alternate captain after his season-ending injury) and ate up big minutes along with defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Strålman joined the Boston Bruins the following season. He signed a one-year contract after a professional tryout (PTO) in training camp but failed to stick with the club. After eight games, he was sent to the team’s AHL affiliate where he played most of the season. He played for seven teams in his 938-game career and only recently announced his retirement.
Kolyachonok – a 23-year-old, left-handed shot – was the Panthers’ 2019 second-round pick. The Belarus-born player represents a small yet growing country for producing NHL talent. In 39 games as a Coyote, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder tallied two goals and five assists.
This season, with injuries to defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino (who have been placed on injury reserve), Kolyachonok has suited up for Utah’s first six games. Playing on a rotating bottom pairing that has featured veteran defensemen Ian Cole and Robert Bortuzzo on the right side, he is learning from former Stanley Cup champions.
Kolyachonok has also found the scoresheet twice in six games, averaging 13:02 of ice time per game. On Oct. 19, he scored the game-tying goal in Utah’s 2-1 overtime win over the Boston Bruins; his nifty move to the backhand beat goalie Jeremy Swayman’s high-glove side in close.
“[Kolyachonok] has all the attributes, he just needs to keep growing,” Tourigny said after the team’s win. “He’s shown greatness in every game… I think he played a really good game tonight.” Despite receiving bottom-pairing minutes, Tourigny couldn’t ask for much more from Kolyachonok so far.
The 2024 second-round selection from the Panthers landed Utah defenseman Will Skahan, a freshman at Boston College. The 6-foot-4, 216-pounder is off to a hot start for the Eagles, tallying two points in the team’s first three games.
Related: 3 Utah Hockey Club NCAA Prospects to Follow in 2024-25
Known for his long reach and physical game, the left-handed shot will be a shutdown player if he develops into an NHL-caliber defenseman.
“He’s a big man that can certainly be somebody that can come in and play with a presence and make it hard for other teams to play in our building,” Armstrong said about Skahan. “He’s somebody that continues to get better.”
All of this for a seventh-round pick doesn’t seem too costly right?
Panthers’ Gain
With the Coyotes’ 2023 seventh-round pick, the Panthers selected forward Stepan Zvyagin. The 20-year-old played for several teams in Belarus last season, scoring 42 points in 50 regular-season games. In the playoffs, playing for Dinamo-Olimpik Minsk in the Belarus Vysshaya, the left-handed shot recorded 11 points in 10 games. This season, Zvyagin is skating for the Dinamo-Molodechno in the Belarusian Extraleague. The 6-foot, 161-pounder has potted four goals and four assists.
Utah is still benefiting from this trade three years later. As Kolyachonok looks to maintain his spot in the NHL and Skahan continues to develop his craft at one of the most prestigious college programs, the franchise has two defensemen to help solidify the team’s future.
