The Nikolai Kovalenko era is about to begin with the Colorado Avalanche.
In a surprise move, Kovalenko was added to the Colorado roster this morning, and is scheduled to make his NHL debut in Game Four against the Winnipeg Jets.
By making his debut with in the NHL, Kovalenko becomes the first son of a former Colorado player to play for the Avalanche. His father, Andrei, picked up an assist on the first goal in Colorado history back in 1995 and was a part of the Patrick Roy trade later that year.
Joel Kiviranta, who left Friday’s game a few times, did not take warmups and will not play.
Kovalenko will become the third player in franchise history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs. Cale Makar did it back in 2019 against the Calgary Flames, while Joey Hishon made his debut back in 2014 against the Wild.
Anyone who follows Colorado Hockey Now knows how excited I am to see Kovalenko get an NHL game in, but even I’m surprised they would throw him into a playoff game without even a single practice with the team. He’s played six games with the Colorado Eagles and has picked up four points. Before that, he was the best player on Torpedo over in the KHL, and played under Igor Larionov, so he’s been groomed by some talented people.
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