The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has claimed defenseman Ilya Solovyov off waivers from the Calgary Flames.
Solovyov, 25, played the majority of his 2024-25 season for the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and registered 28 points (6g/22a), sharing the team-lead in goals among blueliners and ranking fourth in points in that criteria. He also suited up in five games for the Flames last season and chipped in one assist.
A native of Mogilev, Belarus, Solovyov has spent the last four seasons (2021-22 to 2024-25) in the Flames’ organization and recorded 69 points (18g/51a) over 229 AHL games as well as four points (0g/4a) over 15 NHL contests. The blueliner made his NHL debut on Oct. 26, 2023 vs. St. Louis and notched his first career NHL point on Dec. 5, 2023 vs. Minnesota.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pound defenseman played professionally for the KHL’s Minsk Dynamo in 2020-21 and suited up for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2019-20. Prior to his first experience in North America, Solovyov competed in various Belarus pro and junior leagues over the 2016-17 and 2018-19 campaigns.
On an international stage, Solovyov has represented Belarus at the 2021 IIHF World Championship as well as the 2018 under-18 World Championship. He was selected by the Flames in the seventh round (205th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
