Shorthanded Coyotes bolster taxi squad following COVID moves

The Arizona Coyotes assigned defensemen Victor Soderstrom, Vladislav Kolyachonok and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to the taxi squad on Tuesday.

The move comes a day after Arizona placed its head coach, Andre Tourigny, goaltending coach, Corey Schwab, and four players on the COVID-19 list. Three of the four are defensemen Jakob Chychrun, Cam Dineen and Anton Stralman, the other being goaltender Scott Wedgewood.

Drafted 11th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Soderstrom has appeared in 13 games over the past two seasons for the Coyotes, scoring a goal and an assist.

Since Nov. 12, Soderstrom led the Tucson Roadrunners with 10 assists.

Prosvetov played in his fourth career game as goaltender for the Coyotes on Oct. 28. He allowed five goals to the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in his only start of the season.

The Russian native has performed better in Tucson, posting an 8-7-2 record, saving 90.3% of shots and allowing 3.11 goals per game.

Kolyachonok, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, is still awaiting his NHL debut.

In 19 games for Tucson, Kolyachonok scored two goals along with four assists, third most by a Roadrunner defenseman this season.

The Coyotes’ (7-23-3) next matchup comes Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs (22-8-3) on TNT.