Penguins Skate: Blomqvist Move Explained, Kolyachonok on Deck

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered an explanation – or at least most of one – as to why the team sent rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist to the American Hockey League, and it’s pretty much what you might expect.

Blomqvist, 23, was struggling some at the NHL level in his recent run and played behind a sometimes-leaky defensive effort from his teammates. The Penguins apparently did not want a continuation of that to stunt his development.

So on Monday, they sent him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and recalled veteran Tristan Jarry.

“There were multiple things that went into it, but part of our job as coaches and the management group is making sure that we’re putting young players in the best possible position to be successful,” Sullivan said after the Penguins held a full morning skate in Denver ahead of their game Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche.

“Our priority, first and foremost, is the continued growth and development of Joel. There’s always that underlying question that we try to answer – what ‘s the best course of action for him? Is it being at the NHL level or the American League level? That’s some of it, but there’s more to it than that.”

He did not elaborate on what more there is to the move, but it certainly sounded as if the move was specifically about Blomqvist, or close to it, especially with Alex Nedeljkovic slated to start Tuesday.

Blomqvist is 4-9-1, with a 3.81 goals-against average and .885 save percentage, with in 15 games over two stints with the Penguins in 2024-25. He was a second-round draft pick in 2020.

Jarry, too, had been struggling before he was demoted Jan. 16. Sullivan, asked if Jarry might play on this three-game road trip that opens Tuesday, simply repeated that Nedeljkovic would be starting against Colorado.

Perhaps interestingly, with Blomqvist and Filip Larsson already now in WBS, the organization’s other intriguing prospect, Sergei Murashov, was promoted to WBS from ECHL Wheeling on Tuesday. Murashov is 6-0-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in limited time at WBS this season. He has been outstanding with Wheeling, going 17-7-1 including a 13-game winning streak, with a 2.40 GAA and .922 save percentage.

Kolyachonok Set for Debut

With P.O Joseph on IR, it looks as if Vladislav Kolyachonok will make his Penguins debut against the Avalanche. According to reports from Denver, he skated with Vincent Desharnais on a third pairing at the morning skate, with Ryan Graves on a makeshift fourth pairing with forward Boko Imama.

Kolyachonok, who was claimed off waivers from Utah nearly a month ago, has been acclimating to his new team.

“He appears to be a pretty good puck mover. I think he can help us there,” Sullivan said. “He’s got good size. I think he skates pretty well.

“I think he has a better understanding now of how we’re trying to play from a tactical standpoint. We feel more comfortable with where he’s at with respect to that. We think he’s a young player that has potential here. We’ve liked what we’ve seen. The challenge has been we haven’t had a lot of practices, so it’s not like we’ve had an opportunity to see him multiple times in a game-like environment. But we’ve liked what we’ve seen from Vlad so far.”