Colorado Selects Nikolai Kovalenko 171st Overall

DALLAS--The Colorado Avalanche picked forward Nikolai Kovalenko in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft with the 171st overall pick on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Kovalenko, 18, spent the 2017-18 season with Loko Yaroslavl in the Russian junior league and recorded 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 33 contests. He also added 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 13 playoff games.

The 5-foot-10, 174-pound forward also played two regular-season games in the KHL with Yaroslavl and made four postseason appearances with the club.
The right wing was the second player selected by Colorado this draft that was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Avalanche also picked Raleigh native Tyler Weiss in the fourth round with the 109th overall pick.
Kovalenko is the son of former Avalanche forward Andrei Kovalenko, who was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Draft and played 620 career NHL games, including three-plus seasons with the Quebec/Colorado franchise.