Ilya Nabokov isn’t sounding like a goalie who plans to wait around.
The Avalanche prospect recently met with media, with a translator helping out, and his message was direct: he wants NHL action this season. Nabokov said, "My plans for the season are to play as many games in the NHL this season as possible and just prove that I belong here."
That’s a bold line for a player who has not even logged a game at the AHL level yet. Still, it matches the kind of confidence Colorado would want from a goalie who is widely viewed as a major prospect for the organization.
For the Avalanche, though, the timing matters. Teams are careful not to shove young players forward too fast, especially when the jump brings new challenges. Nabokov has never played in the AHL, and there are at least two adjustments that could be tricky: the rink size compared to the KHL, and the communication demands that come with the position.
None of that means he can’t make the transition. Colorado has already seen players such as Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen find success even though English is not their first language.
The more immediate reality is that the Avalanche may be best served by keeping Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood together this season. Both have already proven they can carry the load for a full year, and their work this season earned them the Jennings trophy for allowing the fewest goals.
There’s also a path where Nabokov spends the first half of the AHL season with the Eagles before getting called up later. If that happens, it would likely be because of one of two things: an injury to Blackwood or Wedgewood, or a trade that the Avalanche make - presumably moving Blackwood to open cap space.
That cap-space angle would be about setting up the future, with Lehkonen, Wedgewood, and Nicolas Roy all headed into contract years.
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