Currently on recall with the Predators, Novak is averaging over a point per game with the Admirals this season, posting 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists while skating in 25 games. He is currently second on the team in scoring even though he has missed eight games because of time spent in Nashville and he has already tied his career high for goals in a season, which was set in 60 games back in 2019-20.
In addition, Novak is tied for the Ads team lead with eight power-play points (4g-4a) and also paces the club with seven multi-point efforts including four in his final seven games before being recalled by the Preds for the second time this season on December 19th. While with the Predators, Novak has four goals and four assists and a +2 rating while skating in 10 games.
Earlier this season the fourth-year pro became just the 24th player in Admirals AHL history to reach the 100-point plateau. He currently sits with 103 points on 29 goals and 74 assists while skating in 130 games for his home state team.
In his first season with the Admirals, Askarov has posted a 13-6-2 record along with a 2.66 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and two shutouts. He was selected AHL Player of the Week for the week ending December 11, after he allowed only one goal on 61 shots in two starts and posting his first shutout in North America in the process. He sits fourth in the league in wins, which is first among rookies, and is fourth in minutes played (1,286), and sixth with 541 saves.
Askarov was Nashville's first-round choice, 11th overall, and the first goalie selected in the 2020 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old native of Omsk, Russia, signed an entry-level contract with the Predators last May after spending three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg.
The 2023 Rona AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Feb. 5 (5 p.m. CT) will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events.
In the 2023 Mise-o-jeu AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Feb. 6 (6 p.m. CT), the four teams will participate in a 3-on-3, round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute, 3-on-3 game.
Photos courtesy of Milwaukee Admirals
