The Colorado Avalanche has made the first move of the offseason for the organization. They have locked down a possible goaltender for the future, Ilya Nabokov. He signed a two-year, entry-level contract on Friday afternoon.

The #Avs have signed Ilya Nabokov to a two-year, entry-level contract through 2026-27. #GoAvsGo @HockeyMtnHighCO

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan-vogt.bsky.social) 2025-05-30T20:17:12.810Z

This has been coming for some time as a possibility, as first reported by Evan Rawal at the Denver Gazette. Nabokov is a 22-year-old goaltender, having played in the KHL for his entire career.

The Russian is arguably the best remaining prospect in the Avalanche system. He was drafted 38th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Avs in 2024 and was the KHL rookie of the year. That same year, Nabokov won the Gagarin Cup.

He has played with Metallurg Magnitogorsk for the last two seasons in the KHL. He also featured for Russia 25 in international competition. For his country, he posted a 1.67 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.

In club competition, he was consistent in the crease. In 49 games, he had a 2.22 goals against average and a save percentage of .923 with three shutouts. He ended with a record of 23–17–6. Similar to the Avalanche, however, his season came to an end early in the playoffs. Those five games saw him put up a 2.13 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.

With Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood locked down with the big club, he will not get much game time in the US yet. Nabokov will be loaned back to the KHL for one more year and go stateside in the fall of 2026. If he is able to perform like Nikolai Kovalenko did in his last year before coming to the US, look out.