Source: Avs prospect Martin Kaut out with illness

Per a source in Sweden, Colorado Avalanche top-forward prospect Martin Kaut has been battling through an illness for the last week or so and did not make the three-game road trip with MODO Hockey.

It was feared his symptoms may have been that of COVID-19, however, I’ve been informed by the source that he has tested negative for the virus.

With rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 ravaging the United States, the NHL and AHL have been forced to push back the start dates of their season. With European countries doing relatively better than the U.S. in keeping cases down, European leagues were able to start their seasons on time. Because of this, in October, Kaut was loaned to his former team, HC Dynamo Pardubice in his home country of the Czech Republic, so he could continue his development after having not played since March because of the season’s cancellation.

After just four games with Dynamo Pardubice, rising coronavirus cases in Czechia forced shutdowns there, too. In turn, the Avalanche pulled Kaut from the Czech Republic and loaned him to MODO Hockey of Sweden’s Allsvensken league, where he is currently playing.

Västernorrland County, where MODO Hockey is located, is among Sweden’s best at keeping cases down thus far. As of Nov. 17, Västernorrland has reported just shy of 3,000 new cases, which relatively speaking is fairly good compared to the Czech’s 10,000 and the United States’ 170,000 per day.

Kaut was off to a hot start with MODO, scoring three goals and four points in his first last three games before falling ill. He’s “found some good chemistry with Florida Panthers prospect Aleksi Heponiemi,” according to my source, who also indicated that Kaut’s work ethic with MODO has been as equally as impressive as his shot so far.

“I’m impressed by his work ethics. I don’t think he’s looking as uninterested of defensive zone coverage as some of (MODO’s) recent NHL-players did in the same age age (like Nylander, Kempe, Olofsson) [sic],” the source added.

Despite missing time and playing a quarter of the games of those ahead of him, Kaut currently sits tied for second on the team in goals and is tied for fifth in points.

The source indicated that Martin Kaut is expected to return to the team on Friday.