Novak, 25 (4/28/97), is Milwaukee's leading scorer through his first 25 games of the season, recording 26 points (11g-15a), a total that's also tied for the 14th-most in the AHL. He's recorded a point in five of his last seven contests, including four multi-point efforts, two of which came consecutively on Dec. 14 vs. Hartford (1g-1a) and Dec. 17 vs. Toronto (2a); this followed a three-game stretch that saw him tally six points (3g-3a), highlighted by his first three-point effort of 2022-23 on Nov. 25 at Rockford (2g-1a). All of Novak's 11 goals have come at even strength, and his +9 rating is the highest among Admirals forwards.
Originally drafted by the Predators in the third round (85th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Novak made his League debut with Nashville on Oct. 19, 2021 vs. Los Angeles and went on to skate in 27 games last season, recording seven points (1g-6a). The 6-foot-1, 179-pound forward has produced 135 points (37g-98a) in 157 AHL games with Milwaukee and Chicago, a tenure headlined by a career-high 42 points (11g-31a) in 60 contests with the Admirals as a rookie in 2019-20. Prior to turning pro, Novak spent four years at the University of Minnesota from 2015-19, tallying 88 points (18g-70a) in 129 games. The River Falls, Wis., native reached the 20-point mark in three of his four seasons with the Golden Gophers and helped lead his team to two consecutive Big Ten regular-season titles in 2016 and 2017. Before enrolling at Minnesota, Novak skated with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks in 2014-15 and was second on his team in scoring with 48 points (14g-34a) in 46 games.
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