Athletistic / Hockey. Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar spoke about Russian forward Valery Nichushkin’s return to the team after completing the NHL Player Assistance Program.
“It’s great that Val (Nichushkin’s nickname is Rating Athletistic) is back. It was nice to see the support he received from our fans. To come out and score the puck in overtime, I couldn’t have imagined a better start for Nichushkin after he came back,” Bednar said as quoted by Milehighsports.com.
On the night of March 9, Colorado defeated the Minnesota Wild in overtime in an NHL regular season home game (2:1 in overtime). It was Nichushkin who scored the decisive goal. It was Valéry’s first game after participating in the NHL assistance program.
In January, Nichushkin was included in the NHL Player Assistance Program, which helps hockey players with mental issues and/or addictions (alcohol, drugs). In late February, he was cleared to practice with Colorado. This season, the Russian played 41 games in the NHL regular season and scored 43 (23+20) goals.
Source: Sport
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
