Hurricanes ink top prospect Nikishin to entry-level pact
The Carolina Hurricanes signed top prospect Alexander Nikishin to a two-year, entry-level deal that begins this season, the team announced Friday.
The 23-year-old defenseman served as captain of the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg this campaign. He ranked second on the team behind only Ivan Demidov with 46 points in 61 games while seeing 24:29 minutes of ice time per contest. Nikishin's 17 goals were also the second most among all blue-liners, and he added three points in four playoff games.
SKA Saint Petersburg and Nikishin mutually terminated his contract Friday morning.
The club's campaign ended Sunday with a first-round loss to Dynamo Moscow in the playoffs. Nikishin missed the first two games of the series after suffering an injury at the end of the regular season.
The Hurricanes are working to get Nikishin a U.S. visa and hope to do so by Monday or Tuesday, general manager Eric Tulsky told team beat reporter Walt Ruff.
There are four games remaining on the Canes' regular-season schedule, beginning Saturday against the New York Rangers. Their campaign ends with a road trip to Montreal and Ottawa, so the team is also trying to obtain a Canadian visa for Nikishin.
Tulsky added that the plan is to get Nikishin into one game in North America before the playoffs. Though Carolina would prefer it to be with the big club, it may have to be in the AHL.
A 6-foot-2, left-handed shot, Nikishin was drafted by the Hurricanes in the third round in 2020. He projects to be a key piece of Carolina's blue line in the future.
"It is a big jump from any other league to the NHL, and our team, in particular, plays a very fast brand of hockey that makes it just a little bit harder," Tulsky said.
"I want to be cautious about saying (Nikishin will fit in) immediately, because it may take him one practice, it may take him six months. But I think he is a natural fit who will play his best and look his best playing for us. It's just a question of how quickly he can pick up what he needs to (in order) to play at our speed."
Nikishin has amassed 62 goals and 192 points in 323 career KHL games between the regular season and playoffs. He is also SKA Saint Petersburg's all-time leader in scoring among rearguards with 177 points in 288 regular-season contests.
"We are grateful for Alexander's time with SKA, a premier European hockey franchise, which helped him develop into one of the top prospects in hockey," Tulsky said. "His size and skill have allowed him to have a record-breaking career in the KHL, and we believe he will be an impactful player in the NHL."
Nikishin won a silver medal representing the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2022 Games.
The Hurricanes have already clinched a first-round playoff matchup against the New Jersey Devils. The clubs met in the second round in 2023, with Carolina winning the series in five contests.