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Prospect Info: #69(nice)OA - Hurricanes select LHD Alexander Nikishin (Spartak - KHL)

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Vagrant said:
i'm going to have to luke martin this guy for the board. the skating just isn't there for me. a big part of projecting players is projecting the fit when you have a regime as entrenched as this one. the one thing they've shown us over and over is that they don't consider physicality to be as important back there. they want mobility, puck movement, fewer penalties, and poise. i think he was a BPA pick based on his medicals, but they probably didn't have much of a plan for him. if you're wanting an enforcer type, the best place to have them isn't on your defense. if he crosses the line, you're going to have a lot of time playing with 5 guys available. if he's on the 4th line as a forward, that's easier to work. he's a square peg in a round hole in this system.

he reminds me a little of anton volchenkov, who was stylistically out of shelf life by the time he turned 30. the league has just moved on from these kind of players.
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I think he's a better skater than you give him credit for. And he's much more than an enforcer aside from the skating. His defensive instincts and stick in his own zone are incredible for a player his age in the K. He's not a puck mover, but paired with a puck mover he can definitely have success here. I'm not sure we keep him by the time Nikishin could come over but a pairing with TDA could work wonders.
 
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Rod loves physical guys for the third pair and there’s no reason why this guy wouldn’t be considered but Rod also needs that guy to be rock solid defensively. Cole has been the best example to me so far, and he skates awful so for that specific role this guy can’t be dismissed at this point. He has to prove he can skate at the level and defend at the nhl level. Rod doesn’t care about the big hits as much as playing tough in the crease and standing up for teammates.

I don’t assume this guy can do any of the above. I think at this point he’s a lower case Zadorov who has been playing himself off teams for years just because he steps up for the hits and this game is becoming too quick for that. I think that’s what I dislike about the modern game the most to be honest.

I think he gets a chance with us but there’s nothing to see that tells us if he can make the transition. We’ll see.
 
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bleedgreen said:
Rod loves physical guys for the third pair and there’s no reason why this guy wouldn’t be considered but Rod also needs that guy to be rock solid defensively. Cole has been the best example to me so far, and he skates awful so for that specific role this guy can’t be dismissed at this point. He has to prove he can skate at the level and defend at the nhl level. Rod doesn’t care about the big hits as much as playing tough in the crease and standing up for teammates.

I don’t assume this guy can do any of the above. I think at this point he’s a lower case Zadorov who has been playing himself off teams for years just because he steps up for the hits and this game is becoming too quick for that. I think that’s what I dislike about the modern game the most to be honest.

I think he gets a chance with us but there’s nothing to see that tells us if he can make the transition. We’ll see.
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Cole isn't a great skater but he's also an incredibly smart positional defender (the major difference, BTW, between someone like him and someone like Zadorov). I'd imagine that if Nikishin isn't going to match in terms of skating chops, that he'll have to become topnotch at the positional game to make it in the NHL. A harder task, for sure, but not impossible.
 
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Vagrant said:
i'm going to have to luke martin this guy for the board. the skating just isn't there for me. a.
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Not to quibble--but the problem with Luke wasn't skating, hands of stone, sure--but I really don't think he cares about playing hockey that much. The skill is there, just not the desire to make it work. Which isn't really a negative on him, everyone has there own desires--just tough on the team that drafted him. Which according the to the Utah Grizzlies, was some NFL team:

"Martin, 22, was a 2nd round pick (52nd overall) by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 NHL Draft."
 
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ONO94 said:
Not to quibble--but the problem with Luke wasn't skating, hands of stone, sure--but I really don't think he cares about playing hockey that much. The skill is there, just not the desire to make it work. Which isn't really a negative on him, everyone has there own desires--just tough on the team that drafted him. Which according the to the Utah Grizzlies, was some NFL team:

"Martin, 22, was a 2nd round pick (52nd overall) by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 NHL Draft."
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I’ve been wondering what became of Martin, who seemed promising at first and then just fell off the radar completely. Thanks for the insight on what happened there.
 
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Stickpucker said:
Good for him.

I'm a little sad I came here expecting more vods of him posteriorizing some poor fool.
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There certainly would be but KHL has been shutdown for some time now. There was a covid outbreak and some games postponed and they decided to just postpone the season until after the Olympic break. Bummed for Kochetkov and our other Russian prospects but at least Nikishin will get some run in Beijing
 
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I’d rather not hear that but if he truly progresses to the point where he could be a top 4 NHLer, the earning potential here will almost certainly outweigh his fondness for Spartak.
 
Not surprising but certainly a bit disappointing as fans. I think he’ll be ready to step right in on our left side in 2024 and it wouldn’t be unwise to plan for it. I
Hopefully as a solid top 4 guy but more likely starting bottom pair.
 
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regardless of what you think of the kid, this is the best move. the khl isn't a league that players need rescued from if they're in a situation where they're getting minutes. it's the second best league in the world and my opinion is that he's a world better off playing the next 2 years over there than he is plugging away in minor pro in NA. the gap between major junior and NHL is shrinking due to teams being incentivized to bring kids up right away since the physical risk has lessened over time and players are only playing as long as their athletic prime allows them. the window on appropriate age for hockey has moved from 25-35 to 20-30 and those years are being shaved off between junior and minor pro.
 
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Vagrant said:
regardless of what you think of the kid, this is the best move. the khl isn't a league that players need rescued from if they're in a situation where they're getting minutes. it's the second best league in the world and my opinion is that he's a world better off playing the next 2 years over there than he is plugging away in minor pro in NA. the gap between major junior and NHL is shrinking due to teams being incentivized to bring kids up right away since the physical risk has lessened over time and players are only playing as long as their athletic prime allows them. the window on appropriate age for hockey has moved from 25-35 to 20-30 and those years are being shaved off between junior and minor pro.
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In a normal circumstance, I agree. But with the Russian invasion on Ukraine still going on, and the Russians getting more brazen by the minute on hitting popular civilian targets, I do worry that it won't be possible to get him, nor anyone else, out of the KHL in 2024
 
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