Avalanche sign forward Nikolai Kovalenko to two-year, entry-level deal

July 25, 2023 - 11:50pm

Nikolai Kovalenko (L) and HC CSKA Moscow's Mat Robinson fight for the puck in Leg 7 of their 2020/21 KHL Western Conference semifinal playoff tie at CSKA Arena. (Sergei Fadeichev/TASS)

The Colorado Avalanche signed Nikolai Kovalenko to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

The 23-year-old from Raleigh, N.C., has spent the past six seasons in the KHL and is expected to remain in the league this upcoming season. Kovalenko racked up 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) in 56 games for the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod last year and set a personal best in games played, goals, assists and points.

In the 2022-23 season, Kovalenko served as the Torpedos alternate captain and ranked first on the team in points and second in goals and assists.

First selected by Colorado in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, the right winger is the son of former Avalanche forward Andrei Kovalenko.

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