The KHL regular season officially opens a week from today, but there’s a chance that one of the top prospects for the Colorado Avalanche might not be healthy when things kick off.
Mikhail Gulyayev, the 31st overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Avalanche, was injured in one of the preseason tournaments that his team Avangard participated in. The KHL preseason is quite long, as training camp opens well over a month before the regular season even begins. It’s not clear what the injury is, but the good news is that it doesn’t appear to be that serious, according to their head coach.
“According to Misha Gulyaev, he is confident that he will be healthy by the beginning of the season,” Avangard Head Coach Sergey Zvyagin said.
Gulyayev is coming off a strong rookie campaign in the KHL, as he established himself as a full-time player at just 18 years old on a very good team. As the season went on, he earned more and more ice-time and by the time the playoffs rolled around, he was a regular on the second pair. Given that it’s early in the year and there’s no reason to rush it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses some time. A young guy like Gulyayev might not want to risk losing his spot on the blueline, though.
It’ll be a few years before Gulyayev makes an appearance in an Avalanche uniform, as he made it pretty clear earlier this summer that he’s not coming to North America until he’s NHL ready. His KHL contract runs through April of 2026. If he has a massive year, maybe they could convince him to come over, but he seems content waiting things out until he’s ready to hit the ground running.
Avangard’s regular season starts on Sept. 4.
If you’re looking for updates and highlights on the KHL prospects the Avalanche have, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll regularly be posting updates, including video, on Gulyayev, Ilya Nabokov, Ivan Yunin, and Zakhar Bardakov as the season goes on for CHN+ members. Nabokov’s season begins on Sept. 3, and he’s certainly a player a lot of Avalanche fans are interested in keeping up with.