Nikolai Kovalenko, the Avalanche’s sixth-round draft pick in 2018 and the son of former Avs forward Andrei Kovalenko, signed a two-year entry-level contract Tuesday, the team announced. But the Russian prospect is expected to remain in the KHL through the first year of the deal.
Kovalenko, 23, has developed overseas into one of Colorado’s more promising wing prospects. He scored 21 goals and 54 points in 56 games last season for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, finishing ninth in the league in points.
He was the seventh player the Avalanche drafted in their 2018 class, going No. 171 overall to a franchise that was rebuilding at the time.