The Avalanche announced that they’ve recalled forward prospect Nikita Prishchepov from AHL Colorado ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Predators. Veteran depth piece T.J. Tynan is also back up on the NHL roster after being papered down yesterday to accrue cap space and delay his temporary waiver exemption.
With Matthew Stienburg suspended for two games for charging Lightning defenseman Erik Černák in Wednesday night’s loss, the injury-plagued Avalanche didn’t have the roster flexibility to replace him in-house. He was sent down to AHL Colorado yesterday, freeing up his roster spot but delaying the commencement of his suspension until he returns to the NHL roster. That meant two recalls were coming today – Tynan plus a new face from their minor-league affiliate.
That new face is Prishchepov, who’s now poised to make his NHL debut tomorrow, months after the Avs took him in the seventh round of the 2024 draft. The 20-year-old was an overage pick who’d been passed over in the 2022 and 2023 drafts but worked his way into consideration with 22 goals and 67 points in 63 games for QMJHL Victoriaville in his third and final season of junior hockey. Colorado inked the Russian center/left-winger to an entry-level contract early last month after a decent training camp, which proved prudent in hindsight.
Prishchepov is off to a decent start to his professional career, scoring once and adding three assists in six AHL games with 8 PIMs and a +3 rating. It’s good production early on from the 6’1″ forward, but it’s clear he’s a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option this early on in his development.
Unfortunately for the Avs, their injury situation up front constitutes an emergency. They were already without top-six forwards Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin to begin the season. Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin have since joined them on injured reserve, although the latter is close to returning. Miles Wood is also day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. However, he won’t be out long enough to warrant an IR placement, meaning the Avalanche only had 11 healthy forwards available against Tampa. Oliver Kylington, one of their two extra defenders on the roster, slotted in as their third-line left wing.
Prishchepov still has two seasons left after this one on his ELC. He costs $806.7K against the cap while on the NHL roster, although that’s somewhat irrelevant for the Avs right now with so much money stashed on long-term injured reserve. He’ll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027.