With a disappointing regular season performance and limited playoff playing time, Ilya Nabokov's time in the KHL is over. What's next for him, and how will the Avalanche handle his growth?
While the Colorado Avalanche continue their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, other leagues across the world are in their own playoff race, including the KHL, which currently has two Avalanche prospects still in the hunt for the Gagarin Cup: defensemen Mikhail Gulyayev with the Avangard Omsk, and goaltender Ilya Nabokov with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
While Gulyayev is going strong with a 3-2 lead in their series, Nabokov and Metallurg have been eliminated in five games by HC Ak Bars Kazan, and it wasn’t pretty either. They were outscored 19-11 by a team they finished higher in the regular-season standings.
It hasn't been the season many, including Nabokov, wanted, especially after signing his ELC last summer and being loaned back to the KHL after a great season personally and statistically with Metallurg. Though this will be a good season to look back on for Nabokov and what his impact with the Avalanche will look like going forward.
A Season To Forget
Coming into this season, it was going to be another year of development for Nabokov. After signing his ELC, we knew that he obviously wasn't going to get a roster spot with the Avalanche, but fighting for a spot with the Colorado Eagles in the AHL was a serious question for me.
Though when the news came out that he was being loaned back to the KHL, it was no surprise. The team is championship-ready, and he's coming off a season in which he finished with a record of 23-17-6, an SV% of .932, and a GAA of 2.22, and solid playoff stats despite playing only five games, with a .920 SV% and a 2.13 GAA.
A main topic of the lack of numbers he put up this season was that he split the net with another goaltender, Alexander Smolin. In the last two seasons, which saw impressive numbers from Nabokov, no other goalie played more than 28 games, and his total finished in the mid-high 40s. This season, he played 38, and Smolin played 35 and kinda outperformed him. He finished with a record of 23-8-2, a SV% of .915, and a 2.33 GAA.
It continued in the playoffs as well, with Nabokov only playing in seven games and finishing with a record of 2-4-0 with a .892 SV% and a 2.53 GAA in seven games played. While Smolin started a majority and finished with a record 7-2-0 with a .933 SV% and a 1.67 GAA in 10 games played.
It's an obvious down season for the 22-year-old, but considering a “down” season comes with 20-plus wins, a SV% over .900, and a GAA under 3.00 is still pretty impressive for a tough league to play in like the KHL, which only can make me and others speculate what his play could be like with the Eagles?
Making His Way To North America
Obviously, his time in the KHL is over; his contract ended last summer, and he was only loaned this season with the Eagles to help him get more playing time while the current goalie crease is full. What does it look like tomorrow and in the future with him in the net?
It's tough to assume that he will get any time with the Eagles, as they are currently in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs against the Henderson Silver Knights in the Pacific Division Semifinals. I imagine if the team didn't make the playoffs or lost in the earlier rounds, he might have played a game or two to end the season, but they're too deep now. Though, what are his chances of getting a big role for next season?
Well, it's going to be interesting to see what the Avalanche do with their goaltenders, as Nabokov, Isak Posch, and Trent Miner are all in their final season before they become RFAs that summer. They're all within one year of age, with Nabokov being 23, Posch being 24, and Miner being 25, so there isn’t really any veteran presence to keep around to mentor the younger goalies. They're all young and growing into their full potential right now.
Both Posch and Miner had solid seasons. Miner finished with a 17-8-5 record, a .904 SV%, and a 2.62 GAA. Posch, in his rookie season, finished with a 15-8-5 record, a .891 SV%, and a 2.78 GAA. Now, Posch isn't a UFA until the 2029-30 season, whereas Miner has one more RFA season left until he's a UFA in 2028-29, so there is more room to move Posch, which is something we're seeing now as he is in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies, as Miner gets all the playoff games.
My guess is they continue to use Miner as the starting goaltender as they help Nabokov acclimate to the North American style of hockey and not throw him in right away. However, I don’t doubt he could be their starter by game one next season, given his extensive experience in the KHL.
