Former first-overall pick, 13-year NHL veteran returns to professional hockey
For the first time since the spring of 2021, former first-overall pick and veteran of 13 seasons in the NHL Ilya Kovalchuk made his return to professional hockey, suiting up for Spartak Moscow in the KHL.
Kovalchuk inked a one-year deal with Spartak Moscow a couple of weeks ago and had been gearing up to make his season debut, which he did on Sunday against Kunlun Red Star, who sit dead-last in the Tarasov Division.
The 2001 first-overall pick skated on Spartak Moscow's second line for his season debut alongside his former teammate in New Jersey, Andrei Lotkinov, as well as winger Maxim Tsyplakov.
As was expected going into the game, Spartak Moscow walked away with the victory by a score of 5-2 and 40-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk made an immediate impact in his return to professional hockey, picking up an empty netter for his first goal of the season.
In his absence from playing professional hockey, the Tver, Russia native took on the role of general manager of Russia for the 2022 Winter Olympics, leading them to a silver medal after losing to Finland in the final.
During his 13-year career in the National Hockey League, Kovalchuk suited up for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals where he amassed 876 points (443 goals, 433 assists) in 926 games.
When Kovalchuk officially hangs up his skates, do you think he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Let us know what you think in the poll below!
| POLL | ||
Will Ilya Kovalchuk be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? | ||
| Yes | 68 | 22.9 % |
| No | 206 | 69.4 % |
| See Results | 23 | 7.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
