What the Avalanche's 2024 highest draft selection brings to the prospect pool

The Colorado Avalanche traded their first-round, 24th overall pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for one second-round (38th overall), one third-round (71st overall), and one 2025 second-round (previously acquired from the New York Rangers) selections.

The team's first choice in the second round at the 38 ^th overall spot was goaltender Ilya Nabokov. The 21-year-old netminder posted a 23-13-3 record with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2023-24 season. He earned a .930 save percentage with three shutouts and a 2.15 goals-against average in 43 games played.

Related: Avalanche pick 3 goalies, 2 DU students in 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft

The Kasli, Russia native earned the Aleksei Cherepanov Award (best KHL rookie) and was the Rookie of the Month in November. Nabokov lost only six games with a .942 save percentage and a 1.82 goals-against average in 23 postseason appearances. He and his team won the KHL's Gagarin Cup (equivalent to the NHL's Stanley Cup), and he was the youngest player in KHL history to win the MVP award (equivalent to the NHL's Conn Smythe Trophy).

The 6-foot-1 netminder was ranked second in the NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for goaltenders. He was the first of that position selected in the 2024 NHL Draft and the highest the Avalanche have selected a goalie since taking Philippe Sauve at 38th overall in the 1998 draft.

He was not in attendance at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the draft, nor did he participate in the Avalanche's development camp in early July. It is unknown if he will be invited to the team's training camp in September. With a successful professional season under his belt, Nabokov could potentially be ready to play in the NHL and would likely be welcomed to Colorado's preseason session.

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