Young Calgary Flames Forward Gets Put on Waivers for the Purpose of Contract Termination

Ilya Nikolaev is a Russian-born player who was selected in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames.

Unfortunately for Nikolaev, it was announced today that the Flames were placing him on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

Born on June 26, 2001, in Yaroslavl, Russia, he developed through the Loko Yaroslavl system before making the move to North America in 2021.

Nikolayev is a left-shooting center standing at 6 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds. He is one of the fastest skaters on record and has great offensive qualities.

He was a big USHL scorer with Tri-City Storm, as in 2021-22 he had 72 points in 58 games and afterwards made a leap into professional hockey in the AHL and ECHL level.

This season was meant to be a rebuilding one for the Calgary Flames, with fans expecting to see a ton of new, young talent emerging to take charge of this team into the future like they did last season with the likes of Dustin Wolf, Martin Pospisil, and Connor Zary.

Ultimately though, Nikolaev likely wasn't playing into their short-term plans, so while he has the potential to make a nice career for himself with another team, it appears that it will have to be anywhere else but Calgary.