Carolina Hurricanes fans may not have to wait much longer to see the team’s top prospect in a Hurricane uniform.
When Alexander Nikishin’s season ends playing for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL later this spring, the KHL’s star defender could jump across the pond and join the Hurricanes. The 22-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the KHL season and the expectation is that Nikishin will be able to make the jump to the NHL. That’s at least Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky’s hope when talking about Nikishin’s future with Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
“Once his contract is up, we expect him to come and get into our lineup and give us a boost right away.”
If Nikishin is actually able to join the Hurricanes and insert himself into the lineup right away, this could be a huge boost for the Hurricanes.
Nikishin is a very talented offensive defenseman, leading the KHL in scoring among defensemen two years in a row. Last season, the 6’3”, 216-pound Nikishin scored 17 goals for SKA while adding 39 assists for 56 points. This was also good for leading his team in points, finishing 1 point ahead of the team’s highest scoring forward, Sergey Tolchinsky, who had a brief stint with the Hurricanes, playing 4 career games in two seasons with the Canes in the 15-16 . and 16-17 seasons.
In addition to his high offensive numbers, Nikishin also led the KHL in plus/minus (+32) and took home the KHL’s best defenseman award.
Nikishin will be teammates next season at SKA St. Petersburg with former Hurricane Evgeny Kuznetsov, who mutually agreed with GM Eric Tulsky to terminate his contract 3 weeks ago. Although Kuznetsov was only in Carolina for a brief 30-game regular season and playoff games combined, he will likely be able to give Nikishin some insight into what it’s like to play hockey in the NHL and, more specifically, for the Hurricanes.
Nikishin was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 69th selection in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24090214/STK171_VRG_Illo_4_Normand_ElonMusk_04.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1 "Texas Judge Who Owns Tesla Stock Refuses to Join Advertiser X Lawsuit")
