Avalanche Recall Nikolai Kovalenko

The Avalanche have added winger Nikolai Kovalenko to their playoff roster ahead of this afternoon’s Game 4 against the Jets, Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports. Colorado is carrying only one healthy extra skater, defenseman Caleb Jones, so Kovalenko has a decent chance to make his NHL debut today if there’s an injury or other lineup change to the Avs’ forward group. Pregame line rushes indicate he’s replacing Joel Kiviranta, who has one assist and a +2 rating in the series while averaging 10:14 per game.

Kovalenko, 24, only arrived in North America last month. The Russian winger has shot up the prospect ranks recently, breaking out as a first-line caliber player with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League. The 2018 sixth-round pick signed his entry-level contract last summer but was returned to Torpedo for 2023-24 with the expectation that he’d join the Avs when his season ended overseas.

That didn’t quite come to fruition, at least immediately. Kovalenko played through an injury during his brief playoff run with Torpedo that required some rehabilitation upon arriving in Denver, so the Avs assigned him to AHL Colorado to get into some practice and brief game action. The son of longtime NHL winger Andrei Kovalenko ended up making his AHL debut a couple of weeks ago, posting two goals and two assists in six combined regular-season and playoff games thus far.

Kovalenko’s good skating and playmaking skills have made him one of the top point producers in the KHL over the past two years, totaling 32 goals, 57 assists, and 89 points in 98 appearances for Torpedo since 2022. He’s expected to make a strong push to crack the Avs’ opening night roster next season. His ELC still covers the 2024-25 campaign, costing $896,250 against the cap.