Colorado Avalanche forward Nikolai Kovalenko is gearing up for his first full season in the NHL. The 24-year-old officially started his North American career at the end of the last season after leaving the KHL. In two playoff games for the Avalanche, he had zero points. He also had one goal and three points in four AHL regular-season games with the Colorado Eagles.
Kovalenko is viewed as having good upside and could have a bigger role with the Avalanche next season. Because of this, in a recent article for ESPN, Ryan S. Clark listed Kovalenko as among the top Calder Trophy candidates for next season.
It is understandable that Clark views Kovalenko as a potential candidate for the Calder Trophy. The 2018 sixth-round pick has had plenty of recent success in the KHL, and there is reason to believe he could translate some of it to the NHL. In 2022-23 with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, he posted 21 goals and 54 points in 56 games. He then followed that up by recording 11 goals and 35 points in 42 games with the KHL squad last season.
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Kovalenko should also be put into a position to succeed with the Avalanche. When looking at the Avalanche’s current group, the possibility of him playing top-six minutes next season is there. In addition, his offensive skill should allow him to receive reps on their power play. If he does in fact get the opportunity to play plenty of minutes with the Avalanche’s big guns, it could benefit his offensive production greatly.
At a minimum, Kovalenko should have a fit in the Avalanche’s top nine, especially with Valeri Nichushkin being suspended and Gabriel Landeskog’s return from injury still being undetermined. Thus, now is the perfect chance for him to cement himself as a legitimate NHL player for the Avs.
It will be very intriguing to see what kind of season Kovalenko can put together for the Avalanche. There is no secret that they need more scoring, and Kovalenko has the potential to give them that.
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