Avalanche Recall Nikolai Kovalenko, Ivan Ivan
The Avalanche have made a pair of opening night transactions, recalling forwards Nikolai Kovalenko and Ivan Ivan from AHL Colorado.
At least one of them will make their NHL debut tomorrow against the Golden Knights. Due to cap constraints and in an attempt to maximize their potential LTIR capture, the Avalanche only had 11 forwards on the opening night roster they submitted yesterday. Kovalenko and Ivan were sent down yesterday, just hours before Colorado’s initial roster was due, and were both expected to rejoin the club today.
If Kovalenko draws in, it’ll only be his regular-season debut. He made his NHL debut in last year’s playoffs, skating in Games 4 and 5 of their first-round win over the Jets and failing to get on the scoresheet. Still, it would be a nice early birthday present for the 2018 sixth-round pick, who turns 25 next week. The pending restricted free agent has spent the last two seasons playing a pivotal role for the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, erupting for 89 points in 98 games there while serving as an alternate captain. After arriving in Colorado to end last season, he also tallied three points in four AHL games.
It would be a true debut for the 22-year-old Ivan, though. The Czech pivot went undrafted after recording 177 points in 191 games over three seasons with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles, settling for an AHL deal with Colorado’s affiliate last summer. He had a solid showing, totaling 31 points (12 G, 19 A) in 67 games en route to landing an entry-level NHL deal with the Avs in March. He was viewed as a potential call-up option this season, but even with the Avs’ multiple top-six forward absences in Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, and Valeri Nichushkin, he was a long shot to make the roster. It’s clear he’s made a good chunk of headway on Colorado’s depth chart with a strong camp.
The Avs had the roster space but not the cap space to execute this transaction, so it’s fair to assume either Landeskog, Lehkonen, or newly-acquired defenseman Tucker Poolman has been placed on long-term injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.
Avalanche Sign Ivan Ivan To Entry-Level Contract
The Avalanche have signed undrafted free agent center Ivan Ivan to a two-year entry-level contract, per a team announcement Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed, although the deal will begin next season and make him an RFA in 2026.
Ivan, 21, was on an AHL contract with the Avalanche’s affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He’s had a promising inaugural professional season, scoring 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points in 51 games with a +3 rating.
The 6-foot Czech pivot was impressive on an otherwise middling Cape Breton Eagles team over three years in the QMJHL, closing out his major junior career with a 33-goal, 90-point campaign in 64 games last year. He was named to Czechia’s 2022 World Junior Championship roster, where he notched one assist in seven games en route to a bronze-game loss.
Ivan’s transition to the pro game has created some buzz about his ceiling as a solid bottom-six playmaking center who can log some penalty-kill time. Size won’t be a hurdle in his NHL adjustment, weighing in at nearly 200 lbs, and he’s got plenty of experience playing on North American ice, joining Cape Breton in 2019 after playing out his youth career in Czechia.
Signing Ivan brings the Avs to 47 out of the maximum 50 contracts, so they’ll be cognizant of the limit as they navigate the trade waters this week. He’ll remain waiver-exempt throughout his ELC if he plays 80 NHL games or less.