What Kind Of Player Is Zakhar Bardakov? (+)

Add another to the list of Colorado Avalanche prospects currently playing in the KHL playoffs.

On Friday, the Avalanche dealt Kurtis MacDermid to the New Jersey Devils. In return, they acquired a seventh round pick and 23 year old Zakhar Bardakov. The Russian center, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft, currently plays for SKA in the KHL. Bardakov and his SKA squad just so happen to be playing Avalanche prospect Nikolai Kovalenko and his Torpedo squad in the KHL playoffs.

In game one, the two went head-to-head quite often, with Kovalenko winning the face-off battle. Bardakov led SKA with seven shots on goal, and even got into a bit of a scuffle with Torpedo’s goaltender. He doesn’t play an insignificant role on the powerhouse KHL team, as he averaged 15:01 a game and was a regular on their penalty kill.

Is it possible this is his last season in the KHL, though? His contract currently runs out at the end of April, and he hasn’t signed an extension yet. Colorado Hockey Now has reached out to his representation to see if a move to North America is possible, but had not heard back at the time of publishing.

When game two takes place on Sunday, I’ll be sure to focus more on Bardakov, but in the meantime, I asked someone familiar with his game about what type of player he is. Here’s what they had to say.