The Colorado Avalanche’s top under-25 prospect is still Ilya Nabokov, and the goaltender is heading into his first North American season with plenty of expectations already attached.
At 23, the 6-foot, 181-pound netminder is projected to land with the Colorado Eagles in 2026-27 after another strong year in Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he played 38 games and posted a 2.74 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and one shutout while going 22-7-5. He also held onto the No. 1 spot in the organization’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings, with multiple voters placing him first and his lowest finish still coming in at No. 3.
The belief around Nabokov is simple: he’s going to play in the NHL. That’s been the expectation, and it’s part of what brought him to North America in the first place. For now, though, the immediate question is where he fits in Loveland.
Trent Miner is already in the mix, and he’s shown he can handle AHL work as one of the better netminders in the league. He’s also had NHL appearances, including a shutout at that level. That makes the battle for the Eagles’ crease a real one, and it’s possible the two split time early on.
Whether Nabokov is satisfied with that arrangement is another matter. He arrives after leaving behind a decorated run in the KHL, where he was the KHL MVP, KHL ROY, Gagarin Cup Champion, and KHL Playoff MVP. That’s a résumé built for someone who expects to start, not wait around.
Training camp and the first stretch of the regular season could decide how quickly he climbs the depth chart. If Nabokov shows off the aggressive, athletic game that made him such a prized goaltender, it will be tough to keep him from taking the lead in Loveland.
Long term, the path looks even clearer. Once Scott Wedgewood’s deal expires, Nabokov looks like the natural option to step in behind MacKenzie Blackwood, with the chance to become a starter in Colorado down the line.
The remaining question is the one that follows almost every imported goalie into North America: does the game translate? In Nabokov’s case, the confidence level is high.
The rest of the Avalanche’s 2026 Top 25 Under 25 list finished with Nikita Novosyolov at No. 25, Axel Eloffson at No.
24, Teddy Lechner at No. 23, Ivan Yunin at No.
22, Luka Cloutier at No. 21, Matthew DiMarsico at No.
20, Shawn Carrier at No. 19, Domenick Fensore at No.
18, Tory Pitner at No. 17, Jake Fisher at No.
16, Beckett Hamilton at No. 15, Linus Funck at No.
14, Alex Gagne at No. 13, Egor Shilov at No.
12, Zach L’Heureux at No. 11, Fabian Lysell at No.
10, Sean Behrens at No. 9, Nikita Prishchepov at No.
8, Francesco Dell’Elce at No. 7, TJ Hughes at No.
6, Christian Humphreys at No. 5, Fedor Svechkov at No.
4, Mikhail Gulyayev at No. 3, and Gavin Brindley at No. 2.
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