The Colorado Avalanche have signed goaltender Ilya Nabokov to his entry-level contract that runs for two seasons. This comes one season after the team drafted him with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft. The Avalanche actually drafted three goaltenders a year ago, with Louka Coutier and Ivan Yunin being drafted in the fifth round.
Nabokov has been highly touted since being the first goaltender off the board last year. The Avalanche clearly needed to add some goaltender depth and throw darts at the board with their selections.
I’m sure that part of the reason why the Avalanche signed him so soon is because he’s already 21 with plenty of experience under his belt. Though the NHL is a whole different beast, his experience and success speaks volumes. Nabokov finished the last two seasons with save percentages of .930 and .923, which is stellar. His goals-against averages were 2.15 and 2.22.
The move to get Nabokov into North America has been in the plans for a while, and talks about it being ramped up yesterday. Now, he gets to develop into the Avalanche’s system on his way to potentially being their starter later down the road. Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen expects Nabokov to take over as the Eagles’ starting goaltender position. That will give him a ton of experience.
Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood signed a five-year extension with the Avalanche after being acquired by the San Jose Sharks early this past season. With that in mind, don’t expect Nabokov to replace their starting goalie. There’s not much of a rush at this point despite Nabokov’s age. In all likelihood, if Nabokov proves to be the real deal, he will surpass Blackwood as the started years down the road.
For now, though, we have our starter as well as our backup (Scott Wedgewood). The goalie position is set for years to come with some high hopes for the future.
EDIT: Nabokov will be loaned back to the KHL for the 2025-26 season.