Avalanche Farm Report: Sept. 16

Spotlight On: Nikolai Kovalenko

On Sept. 4, Kovalenko scored in his 2018-19 KHL debut to help Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to a 5-0 victory over Sibir Novosibirsk. In a league notorious for playing veterans over rookies, the 18-year-old racked up a solid 12:26 of ice time. Kovalenko has dressed in four of the team's six contests, averaging 10:27.
The son of former Quebec Nordiques and Avalanche forward Andrei Kovalenko, Nikolai was named KHL's Best Rookie for the league's opening week and has now registered five hits, six penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating this year. The Avs prospect will likely split time between the KHL and MHL this season--he signed a three-year contract extension with Lokomotiv in August--as he continues to grow his game.

Vegas Rookie Faceoff

The Avalanche rookies looked strong at this year's rookie tournament in Las Vegas which opened on Sept. 8 and wrapped up on Tuesday.
In the first game of the Vegas Rookie Faceoff, the Avs were behind 5-0 against the Vegas Golden Knights rookies going into the second period but did not let that get them down.
Ty Lewis assisted on a goal from newly-signed prospect Logan O'Connor, who opened the scoring for Colorado 2:47 into the second stanza. The Knights scored five minutes later but were quickly answered by Lewis, with O'Connor assisting, to end the second period scoring
. Brandon Saigeon added fire to the rookies' game in the third period, netting the puck only 24 seconds in. He added a second marker at 4:42, assisted by rookie captain Vladislav Kamenev. This was the first of three unanswered goals to round out the game. Josh Dickinson assisted Matthew Boucher at 7:47 and Logan O'Connor later picked up his third point of the night, aided by Sergei Boikov. Although they put up a strong fight, the rookie squad ultimately fell one goal short,
losing 7-6 to Vegas
. Petr Kvaca made 15 of 21 saves and split time in the net with Justus Annunen who saved seven out of eight shots. Colorado outshot Vegas 35-29 overall, peppering the Knights with 25 shots over the final two frames.

Despite another impressive effort from the rookies, the second game of the weekend against the Anaheim Ducks did not end in the Avalanche's favor. After an uneventful first period, the Ducks tallied at 2:24 of the middle frame.
Matthew Boucher and Brandon Saigeon quickly answered for Colorado with back-to-back goals--the second of the tournament for each
. Cole Reinhardt, Michael Joly and R.T. Rice were all credited with assists. The Avs held the advantage for the majority of the second stanza, but the Ducks came back to tie the game soon after the halfway point and gained the advantage with two minutes left to spare before the second stanza. Colorado was able to generate a few good chances in the third period, but none struck the back of the net while Anaheim sank two more goals and
defeated Colorado by a 5-3 score
. Justus Annunen got his first start of the tournament and stopped 32 shots. Anaheim topped Colorado with 37-29 shots on goal.
The last game of the rookie tournament ended on a high note for the Avalanche against the San Jose Sharks. In the first period, Nolan De Jong notched his first goal of the series. The tally was quickly followed by one from fellow prospect Vladislav Kamenev, who netted his first goal and second point of the tournament, allowing the Avs to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first. With 8:20 remaining in the third period, Avalanche forward Tim McGauley broke a 2-2 tie, sailing a wrist shot past the Sharks. Brandon Saigeon accentuated the lead by putting away two more goals within 2:12 of each other (the second was a shorthanded empty-netter). In the last minute of the contest, Martin Kaut added the nail on the coffin, scoring into an empty net with 30 seconds left
to give the Avs a 6-3 victory
.
Goaltender Petr Kvaca stopped 33 of 36
shots in his second game of the tournament.

Sampo Ranta Update

Sampo Ranta is heading to the University of Minnesota Gophers for his freshman season after previously committing to University of Wisconsin for 2018-19. Ranta, originally from Finland, was selected in the third round (78th overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2018 NHL Draft. In the spring, the left wing helped Finland to gold in the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship and was also on Finland's squad at the World Junior Summer Showcase. The Gophers start their season on Oct. 6 against the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Russia

Nikolai Kovalenko (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL): Lokomotiv Yaroslavl has played six games so far this season and has won the past five. The KHL squad now stands in second place in the West Conference. Nikolai Kovalenko has skated in four of the six games, scoring his first KHL goal in his debut on Sept. 4 and averaging 10:32 of ice time. His goal, plus-two rating and five hits earned him the KHL Best Rookie title for the week.
After dropping the first game of the campaign on Sept. 2 to Avangard (4-0), Lokomotiv defeated Sibir (5-0) on Sept. 4, Salavat Yulaev (4-2) on Sept. 6 and picked up three more wins this past week. The club beat Sloven 4-1 last Sunday, CSKA Moscow on Tuesday and Severstal 4-1 on Saturday.

Danila Zhuravlyov (Bars Kazan, VHL): Danila Zhuravlyov, a fifth-round (146th overall) pick by the Avalanche at the 2018 NHL Draft, has played in each game for the VHL's (Russia's second-tier league) Bars Kazan. The 18-year-old defenseman has helped the affiliate of KHL's Ak Bars Kazan to four straight wins to begin the season. Bars Kazan is currently first in the VHL after winning 2-1 on Sept. 6 against Yuzhny Ural, 3-1 on Sept. 8 versus Gornyak, 2-1 on Monday against Chelmet and 2-1 in a shootout on Wednesday versus Zauralye. The Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, native spent last season split between MHL (junior league) and the VHL.
Shamil Shmakov (Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk, MHL): The Sibirskie Snaipery team of the MHL has begun its season on a strong note. The squad has won each of its four games so far. On Sept. 5, Sibirskie Snaipery opened its season with a 4-1 win over Irbis Kazan. The club followed the win up the next day with a 5-2 victory over the same team. Sibirskie went on to play Ladya Togliatti on Sunday and Monday, winning 4-1 both times. The streak has Sibirskie Snaipery tied for first in the league. Goaltender Shamil Shmakov has yet to play.