Players drafted in the seventh round who end up playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) are very rare, especially when they reach the Bettman circuit the year of their selection.
Yet this is the story of Nikita Prishchepov, whose name was called in 217e level of the 2024 amateur auction by the Colorado Avalanche. The Russian took advantage of numerous offensive injuries to earn a spot on the team for Saturday night’s game against the Nashville Predators.
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In doing so, Prishchepov became the first player drafted this late in four years to make his NHL debut. Goalkeeper Dylan Ferguson (194e), in 2017, was the last to have achieved this in the year of his selection.
Quebec has a connection with Prishchepov since the 20-year-old athlete played three seasons with the Victoriaville Tigres. He came to the American League this fall with the Colorado Eagles, collecting four points in six games.
During Saturday’s duel lost 5 to 2 by the Avalanche, the center spent 13:30 on the ice and took two shots on net.
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