Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Kovalchuk akavandudzwa muchirongwa chevechidiki cheSpartak Moscow, achijoinha timu yavo yevakuru muVysshaya Liga muna 1999. Mushure memwaka miviri neSpartak, akabatana neAtlanta Thrashers yeNHL, uyo akamusarudza wekutanga zvachose mu2001 NHL Entry Draft
. Mushure memakore masere neThrashers, akachinjirwa kuNew Jersey Devils muna 2010, uyo waakasaina kondirakiti yemakore gumi nemashanu, $ 100 miriyoni, mushure memakore gumi nemanomwe, $ 102 miriyoni dhiri rakarambwa neNHL. Muna 2013, akasiya NHL kuti adzokere kuRussia, achijoinha SKA Saint Petersburg, kwaakatamba kwemwaka mishanu asati adzokera kuNHL muna 2018.