Kovalenko, 23, recorded 54 points (21g/33a) in 56 games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL this past season, setting career highs in games played, goals, assists and points. He finished tied for ninth in the league and first on the team in points and ranked second among Torpedo skaters in goals and assists while serving as an alternate captain. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound right wing also paced the club in game-winning goals (six) and finished second on the team with eight power-play markers. Kovalenko added a team-best seven points (3g/4a) in 10 postseason contests, helping Torpedo advance to the conference semifinals of the Gagarin Cup Playoffs.
Kovalenko has produced 108 points (48g/60a) and a +47 rating in 215 career KHL outings with Lokomotiv, Ak Bars and Torpedo, while adding 11 points (3g/8a) in 42 career postseason contests.
Selected by Colorado in the sixth round (171st overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Kovalenko collected 50 points (17g/33a) in 72 career games in Russia's junior league, the MHL, from 2015-19. He helped Yaroslavl win back-to-back MHL championships in 2017-18 and 2018-19, leading the league in assists (11) during the club's first title run. Kovalenko recorded 31 points (10g/21a) during the 2017-18 campaign, earning a selection to the MHL All-Star Game.
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina but raised in Russia, Kovalenko represented Russia at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording three points (1g/2a) in six games to help his nation capture the bronze medal. He also skated in six games for Russia at the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
Kovalenko is the son of former Avalanche forward Andrei Kovalenko, who was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Draft and played 620 career NHL games, including nearly four seasons with the Quebec/Colorado franchise.
