Valeri Nichushkin is a unique player in the NHL, someone a teammate referred to as “one of one” and whose coach said cannot be replaced.
There are a few guys in the league who are somewhat similar, and might be able to pull off a reasonable impression. One of them is Artturi Lehkonen, and he’s about to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup.
Lehkonen has missed the past 35 games because of a neck injury sustained after a scary collision with the end boards against the Seattle Kraken. He’s been skating and practicing over the past couple of weeks, and it appears there’s a good chance he’ll be back Wednesday night for Colorado against the Washington Capitals.