Avalanche’s Lehkonen to return for Avalanche Nov. 5, Nichushkin likely for Nov. 15
The Colorado Avalanche have announced that forward Artturri Lehkonen will return to the lineup for Tuesday’s game vs. Seattle.
The Avs also announced that Valeri Nichushkin has been cleared to practice with the club and will return on Nov. 15 against the Washington Capitals.
Last Thursday, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar stated, “Nichushkin will be cleared to join the team for practices before his official reinstatement to play game time comes.”
In May, Nichushkin entered Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program after failing a drug test.
#Avs coach Jared Bednar says:
– Artturi Lehkonen will play tomorrow night.
– Valeri Nichushkin will play Nov. 15 (assuming everything goes as scheduled with his full reinstatement)
– Still no timeline for Gabe Landeskog (or Jonathan Drouin).
During the 2023-24 campaign, the Chelyabinsk, Russia native notched a career-high 28 goals and 53 points in 54 games. Nichushkin added nine goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games for the Avalanche prior to his suspension.
Throughout his career, Nichushkin has tallied 116 goals and 158 assists for 274 points in 512 games with the Stars and Avalanche. He has added 35 points in 23 Stanley Cup playoff contests, all with Colorado over the past three years. Nichushkin captured a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2021-22.
Meanwhile, the Avs announced that forward Miles Wood had been placed on the injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 28. Wood has one goal in 10 games this season.
The Avs announced that forwards Ivan Ivan, Nikolai Kovalenko and Nikita Prishchepov have been recalled from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Colorado Eagles.
There is still no timeline on a return for Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog and forward Jonathan Drouin.
The Stockholm, Sweden product missed all of 2022-23 following a procedure on his knee in October, the second he had on that same knee. Following the procedure, the initial prognosis was a 12-week recovery timeline. Then, on May 9, 2023, the Avalanche announced that Landeskog would miss the entirety of 2023-24.