First rounder doesn’t show up to camp

He was given a second chance in the National Hockey League, but we now wonder if he just spat on it. 

On Friday, on the first day of training camp for the Colorado Avalanche, forward Valeri Nichushkin was nowhere to be found. 

Team insider Adrian Dater was first to report that the 24-year-old forward was missing from camp and also noted that his name did not appear on the club’s official roster. 

When he asked head coach Jared Bernar about his absence, the bench boss said he would address the why later on. 

The Avalanche signed Nichushkin to a one-year contract worth $850,000 just last month. He returned to the NHL last season with the Dallas Stars after two years with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. He racked up 10 assists in 57 games with the Stars.

Nichushkin was selected by the Stars with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft and played three seasons in Dallas before returning to Russia in 2016. He reportedly left the team after many disagreements with former head coach Lindy Ruff. 

We hope this is not taking place again, this time, in Denver… 

UPDATE: It seems that Nichushkin has been dealing with immigration paper issues and should be coming to Denver later on Friday or over the course of the weekend. Fans cannot be blamed for wondering about this player, who was in the middle of much controversy a few seasons ago.