Top prospect Alexander Nikishin leaving KHL to join Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are adding top prospect Alexander Nikishin just ahead of the playoffs.
admin
The Carolina Hurricanes are adding top prospect Alexander Nikishin just ahead of the playoffs.
Nikishin’s KHL team SKA Saint Petersburg announced Friday that the defenceman has been granted his release to move to the NHL.
The Hurricanes have not announced an entry-level contract yet but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that the two sides were working on an agreement.
Nikishin, 23, was a third-round pick by the Hurricanes in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has spent the last three seasons with SKA, most recently as captain, and is coming off his second-straight 17-goal season from the blue line. He has 259 games of KHL experience over parts of five seasons with SKA and Dynamo Moscow, and has scored 54 goals and 174 points in that time.
The Hurricanes will finish second in the Metropolitan Division and host the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs. Before that, the Hurricanes have four games remaining on the schedule. One of those games, Wednesday against the Canadiens, could see Nikishin face off against his former SKA teammate Ivan Demidov, who recently signed with Montreal.
