After trading defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Vancouver Canucks earlier today the Colorado Avalanche have stayed busy. The organization announced they have signed forward Nikita Prishchepov to a three-year, entry-level contract and he’ll report to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
Prishchepov was the ninth-to-last player selected in the 2024 NHL Draft at 217th overall to the Avalanche. He had previously been playing for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres and will suit up professionally earlier than expected.
The 20-year-old Russian spent three years with Victoriaville after moving to North America from the subsidiary of the KHL, the MHL. He improved each year of his major junior career and finished with 45 goals and 135 points in 191 games for the Tigres. The Avalanche will hope for more discipline as he makes his way up the North American pipeline as Prishchepov finished with 189 PIMs in his QMJHL tenure.
That discipline carried into his final weeks with Victoriaville as he earned 20 PIMs in only 14 postseason games putting his team at a serious disadvantage. He finished with three goals and 11 points to end his career as the Tigres fell in five games to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL Conference Finals.
He’ll start down the middle of the ice with the Eagles and should serve as valuable center depth for the organization. His talents are still a bit raw but he’ll have a few years to iron out his foundation at the AHL level.