With a recent elimination from the KHL playoffs, forward prospect Nikolai Kovalenko could join the Avalanche ahead of the postseason.

One of the Colorado Avalanche’s top prospects, 24-year-old Nikolai Kovalenko, has officially concluded his 2023-24 season in the KHL. The Russian forward and his team, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, were eliminated in five games by SKA on Saturday in the postseason. 

As a result of the elimination, Kovalenko is now eligible to head to the United States and join the Avalanche. Unfortunately however, he was injured in the game and his status is unknown at this point. 

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The Avalanche drafted the left-shot winger 171st overall in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and signed a two-year agreement with the club on July 25, 2023. Over the past two seasons, Kovalenko has been playing in the KHL for Torpedo as an alternate captain, where he scored 32 goals and 89 points through 98 regular-season games and three goals and 11 points in 15 postseason games. 

His addition to the current NHL lineup would strengthen an already reconfigured forward group that includes Casey Mittelstadt, Yakov Trenin, Brandon Duhaime and the return of Valeri Nichushkin. With these additions to the lineup, along with a possible return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche have a multitude of top-nine forward configurations that could ultimately boot forwards like Joel Kiviranta or Zach Parise out of the lineup. 

Kovalev is a player who can play in all situations and appears capable of playing in the NHL right away. However, expectations will need to be tempered as he has never played on the smaller North American ice, and there could be an adjustment period associated with this transition. 

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