NHL's Top 50: Ilya Kovalchuk (No. 13)

FanHouse's Adam Gretz takes a look at his top 50 players in the NHL. No. 13 is Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

In their nine-year existence, the Atlanta Thrashers have qualified for the postseason just one time, failing to win even one playoff game. The one consistent bright spot for seven of those years has been the electrifying talents of forward Ilya Kovalchuk. He's entering the final year of his contract, and negotiations are underway according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. If they can work out an agreement, it would be the biggest, and most important move in what has already been an impressive offseason that has seen the club trade for defenseman Pavel Kubina to bolster their defense, and also add forward Nik Antropov, a move Kovalchuk had a role in.

The NHL's Top 50 Players: See the Entire List

The Numbers: Ilya Kovalchuk
Ilya Kovalchuk	Goals	Assists	Points	Pim
Career Totals	297	260	557	384
Average Per 82 Games	44.2	39.3	83.6	57.4

Draft Year: 2001

The No. 1 pick by Atlanta in 2001, one spot ahead of Ottawa's Jason Spezza. The most prolific goal-scorer in his class, he's already closing in on 300 career goals (he currently has 297) while no other player taken that year has reached the 150-goal plateau

Why He's On My List

As dominant a goal-scorer as you will find in the NHL, Kovalchuk has scored at least 40 goals in each of the past five seasons, and has developed a pattern of alternating 40-goal and 50-goal performances: 41 in '03-04, 52 in '05-06, 42 in '06-07, 52 in '07-08, and 43 in '08-09. If the pattern continues, you can pencil him in for 52 this upcoming season. Possessing great speed and a lightning-fast shot, Kovalchuk has finished in the top-10 in goals scored six times in his seven-year career, and was tied for the league-lead during the 2003-04 season.

Obligatory YouTube Video

A collection of Kovalchuk's top goals