While Colorado Avalanche hockey is still a few weeks away from returning, some of their prospects are back on the ice. On Sept. 3, the KHL season opens up with a rematch between the two teams that played for the KHL Championship last season. That means it’s Ilya Nabokov season.

Outside of Calum Ritchie, who will look to crack the Avalanche roster this season, Nabokov will be the most interesting prospect to keep an eye on this season. He’s coming off a pretty dominant rookie season in the KHL where he almost came out of nowhere to lead his team to a title, and at 21, he’s closer to the NHL than most prospects that were drafted just a few months ago. That also means the pressure is on him to repeat what he did just a year ago. He won’t be able to surprise anyone anymore.

This isn’t your typical film room, but more of a small glimpse into what Nabokov did last year. Like I’ve said before, I’m far from an expert when it comes to the goaltending position, but we’ll have plenty of Nabokov coverage this season, including highlights for CHN+ members as the season goes on.

Quick As Can Be

After last season, Evgeni Nabokov, who had a real nice career in the NHL and currently works for the San Jose Sharks, said that Ilya (who is not his son) had “some of the best legs I’ve seen at this age.”

Here’s what he’s talking about.

 

Confident Playing The Puck

The Avalanche haven’t had a ton of goalies that look and feel confident playing the puck. Pavel Francouz was, but beyond him, there have been a lot of goalies that either don’t or shouldn’t want the puck in recent years. A goalie that can move the puck and complete a breakout pass can be a real weapon, although there’s always risk involved when the last line of defense tries to get in on the fun.

Nabokov is usually pretty good about picking his spots, but he’s not perfect. Here’s a little glimpse into what he can with the puck.

 Preseason Showcase

I’ve also been tracking what Nabokov has done this preseason, although it was only three games. Here’s some of his best moments as he prepares for his second year in the KHL.