When a 21-year-old goaltender is selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, the wait time to make the NHL is expected to be shorter than the typical second-round pick. Ilya Nabokov's dominating performance in the KHL caught the attention of NHL teams, and despite being the oldest goaltender in the draft, the Avalanche selected the Russian goaltender with the 38th pick.
After Colorado made his selection, I reached out to Nabokov's agent to ask when the KHL Rookie of the Year would arrive in North America.
“We will make a decision soon,” his agent, Shumi Babayev, told CHN.
While I don't think an official decision has been made yet, it looks like Avalanche won't have to wait too long for Nabokov to make the jump across the ocean.
As I mentioned over the weekend, I'd be surprised if Nabokov went overseas to join Colorado this summer. He has one more year left on his KHL contract and is in a good spot as he's set to start again with Metallurg next season. There's no reason to rush him at this point. After that, it's all up to us.
In a new interview in Russia, Babayev explained why Russia has been able to produce so many excellent goalkeepers, which I will write about soon. The article on Vedomasti.ru also included a tidbit of information about Nabokov…
Nabokov's agent, Babayev, believes his client will be successful in the NHL, but thinks the player needs a year or two to be fully mentally and physically ready to play in the American League.
From what we've heard so far, Nabokov's arrival in 2025-26 seems like a realistic possibility, but there are still a lot of factors at play. Last season was a dominant one, but it was still his first year in the KHL. He didn't start the season as the No. 1 goalie, but he took over most of the job about a month and a half into the season.
It would be reasonable to expect Nabokov to spend time in the AHL and get acclimated to the smaller ice, but who knows what will happen. He could arrive ready to move to the NHL right away. There are very recent examples of either scenario.
Andrei Vasilievskiy and Igor Shesterkin played briefly in the AHL before becoming full-time NHL players, while Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Bobrovsky never played in the AHL. These four goalies arrived in North America at different ages: Vasilievskiy was 20, Bobrovsky was 22, Shesterkin was 23 and Sorokin was 24.
CHN has made efforts to speak with Nabokov this summer but nothing has been decided or guaranteed as of yet. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as Nabokov will be a player Avalanche fans will be keeping an eye on this season. KHL training camps begin in early August.
