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

[Unsustainable]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1852689618560254202

 

[Sombastate]

I'm going to be entirely transparent, I'm only asking because someone is offering him to me in a dynasty league, but I've also been very interested in him as a prospect.

What are his strengths and weaknesses and are you guys anticipating a True Blue #1? A top Pairing?

Thanks in advance!

 

[To Be Determined]

I'm going to be entirely transparent, I'm only asking because someone is offering him to me in a dynasty league, but I've also been very interested in him as a prospect.

What are his strengths and weaknesses and are you guys anticipating a True Blue #1? A top Pairing?

Thanks in advance!

board rule - you have to tell us the name of your fantasy team first. then, maybe, you get answers.

 

[Sombastate]

board rule - you have to tell us the name of your fantasy team first. then, maybe, you get answers.

Bamberg Badger Hounds

I have Weiner dogs, my fiancé is from Germany and I have EVERY German player in the league. So I molded my entire team after the German identity (also have the two Austrians).

For further reference, the guy loves Faber, I have Faber and he offered me Kulich, Catton and Nikishin for Faber and Foerster

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I'm going to be entirely transparent, I'm only asking because someone is offering him to me in a dynasty league, but I've also been very interested in him as a prospect.

What are his strengths and weaknesses and are you guys anticipating a True Blue #1? A top Pairing?

Thanks in advance!

Full disclaimer I may be his biggest fan/advocate here and have been for a long time (since first watching him the year after we drafted him before he truly broke out).

Important to note absolutely nobody can really predict the KHL to NHL transition perfectly. But the way he projects based on his KHL play the last few years is as a true bonafide #1 do everything D. He's a different style of player but in terms of overall impact on the ice in different aspects of the position Hedman comes to mind. He has a rocket of a slapshot and wrister that is very accurate for a D man, pretty good puck handling and great vision/puck movement.

Defensively he could come over next year and immediately be the biggest hitter in the league, depending on how much leeway he is given. Dude goes for massive hits from all angles and lays guys out regularly in ways rarely seen these days in the NHL. I suspect Rod will rein that in a bit though. He's got good stick work and positioning in the D zone and is obviously a big guy with a big reach.

I can't think of anything that one could consider a weakness of his. His upside is a top 5-10 league wide player. Incredible leader for his young age. I suspect there's a chance he's brought in a bit slower than most would hope/expect so I don't expect him to step in and immediately be putting up elite scoring production like he has in the K, I think a safe bet his first year here would be 35-45 points, a lot of hits and a great +/- playing on a good team. Probably quite a bit of PIM early on. Will be really interesting to see how long it takes him to pick up Rod's system and how well he'll fit in it. On the surface it seems like a perfect fit and the system allowing D men to jump into the play much more could unlock even more of his offensive potential. But we have to actually see it happen before I make any claims.

I've been trying to temper my expectations with him for 3 years now but his play on the ice is making that damn difficult.

 

[Sombastate]

Full disclaimer I may be his biggest fan/advocate here and have been for a long time (since first watching him the year after we drafted him before he truly broke out).

Important to note absolutely nobody can really predict the KHL to NHL transition perfectly. But the way he projects based on his KHL play the last few years is as a true bonafide #1 do everything D. He's a different style of player but in terms of overall impact on the ice in different aspects of the position Hedman comes to mind. He has a rocket of a slapshot and wrister that is very accurate for a D man, pretty good puck handling and great vision/puck movement.

Defensively he could come over next year and immediately be the biggest hitter in the league, depending on how much leeway he is given. Dude goes for massive hits from all angles and lays guys out regularly in ways rarely seen these days in the NHL. I suspect Rod will rein that in a bit though. He's got good stick work and positioning in the D zone and is obviously a big guy with a big reach.

I can't think of anything that one could consider a weakness of his. His upside is a top 5-10 league wide player. Incredible leader for his young age. I suspect there's a chance he's brought in a bit slower than most would hope/expect so I don't expect him to step in and immediately be putting up elite scoring production like he has in the K, I think a safe bet his first year here would be 35-45 points, a lot of hits and a great +/- playing on a good team. Probably quite a bit of PIM early on. Will be really interesting to see how long it takes him to pick up Rod's system and how well he'll fit in it. On the surface it seems like a perfect fit and the system allowing D men to jump into the play much more could unlock even more of his offensive potential. But we have to actually see it happen before I make any claims.

I've been trying to temper my expectations with him for 3 years now but his play on the ice is making that damn difficult.

Well, sounds like he's a more offensive Seider, Sounds like something I definitely want in this league, even if it means losing Faber.

Thank ya!

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

Having Nikishin and Ghost quarterbacking the two power plays is going to be insane. I think there are going to be wins gained from opposing defenses not being able to key in on the top PP unit because the second one is nasty too.

 

[Svechhammer]

Having Nikishin and Ghost quarterbacking the two power plays is going to be insane. I think there are going to be wins gained from opposing defenses not being able to key in on the top PP unit because the second one is nasty too.

People keep saying that they see Nikishin coming in as an Orlov replacement, but the more I think about it, I think he almost perfectly fits the role Burns has played in his career. Very good defensively, can hit like a truck, and has got a rocket of a shot. I know that Slavin-Nikishin would require someone playing their off-hand, but I wonder if that might not be the best place for him to slot in once he comes over

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

People keep saying that they see Nikishin coming in as an Orlov replacement, but the more I think about it, I think he almost perfectly fits the role Burns has played in his career. Very good defensively, can hit like a truck, and has got a rocket of a shot. I know that Slavin-Nikishin would require someone playing their off-hand, but I wonder if that might not be the best place for him to slot in once he comes over

I think it will end up with the Canes essentially having 2 x 1st pairings which will be awesome.

 

[chaz4hockey]

People keep saying that they see Nikishin coming in as an Orlov replacement, but the more I think about it, I think he almost perfectly fits the role Burns has played in his career. Very good defensively, can hit like a truck, and has got a rocket of a shot. I know that Slavin-Nikishin would require someone playing their off-hand, but I wonder if that might not be the best place for him to slot in once he comes over

Morrow looks like he has had some challenges defensively in Chicago this year (going by +/- ) whereas Burns had been great (FWIW: I don’t view Burns as a very physical defender…he really doesn’t hit much) this year.

If Burns play continues at a high level, I wonder if they try to re-sign him for a year and let Morrow continue to progress another year in Chicago.

Re: Nikishin—let him play his natural position and hopefully RBA lets him hit extensively next year.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

People keep saying that they see Nikishin coming in as an Orlov replacement, but the more I think about it, I think he almost perfectly fits the role Burns has played in his career. Very good defensively, can hit like a truck, and has got a rocket of a shot. I know that Slavin-Nikishin would require someone playing their off-hand, but I wonder if that might not be the best place for him to slot in once he comes over

It's entirely possible, although not since 2018-19 have we seen Rod play D on their off hand in the top 4. And even on the 3rd pair it's been somewhat rare. I would not be totally surprised if we keep Orlov past this year either if Rod decides he's ok playing a guy on their off side.

 

[robbieberns]

I don’t think putting him with Slavin makes much sense. In a perfect world he slots in for Orlov and we bring in a mid/long term partner for Slavin instead of re upping on Burns or throwing Morrow into the deep end.

 

[bleedgreen]

I don’t think Rod will want Nikishin on his off side, especially as he’s learning the league. If it’s a necessity of course he’ll put someone over there, as mentioned he has done it before….just not very often.

I think he’ll treat it like any other rookie situation. Starts lower in the lineup unless Nikishin leaves him no choice or the gm leaves a hole in the lineup that can only be given to the guy. Even if Nikishin is awesome in camp Rod may still choose a vet over him to start. He’s a unique situation in some aspects as he’s no longer really a prospect vs being a grown ass man already playing against men….yet he has no real experience in North America hockey let alone the NHL. Makes Rod’s choices difficult as he’d probably prefer to keep Ghost on the third pair, and he’d probably prefer to the rookie find his way in time on the third pair.

 

[Sombastate]

So is it the consensus opinion that he is for sure coming over next year?

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

So is it the consensus opinion that he is for sure coming over next year?

Most assume this, yes. I would say it is not 100%. If I had to put odds on it I'd say like 90-95% maybe a little higher. But not a complete guarantee.

 

[Svechhammer]

So is it the consensus opinion that he is for sure coming over next year?

The expectation is that he will join the team as soon as SKA is done with their season/playoff run

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Pretty decent defense crop this off season as well so even if Burns and/or Orlov aren't back there should be some good options to fill in.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Pretty decent defense crop this off season as well so even if Burns and/or Orlov aren't back there should be some good options to fill in.

Most likely scenario is the same group except Nikishin instead of Orlov. I just don't see Burns leaving or retiring

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Good problem to have trying to squeeze all these good players into the lineup next year.

If Orlov continues to put up the numbers he’s putting up, he probably sets himself up for a bonus payday that he wasn’t expecting at the end of this 2 year deal. Let someone else pay him a la Hamilton/Pesce/Skjei and thank him for his service.

Walker has been the slowest acclimatizer of the new guy group, but in theory he’s a good fit next to Slavin play style-wise, should Burns retire, leave, or take a step back and Morrow isn’t ready to take the top pair mantle.

Chatfield, frankly, seems like an awesome guy to break Nikishin in. The makeup of the group and lines will depend a lot on Burns and how that shakes up.

We will see how it all goes. Hopefully it’s a problem we have to solve because Morrow is super ready and Burns still has it, instead of it being a series of decisions that are made for us.

 

[CanesUltimate11]

Most likely scenario is the same group except Nikishin instead of Orlov. I just don't see Burns leaving or retiring

Probably a 50/50 if they win the cup this year. Go out on top or go for the consecutive games played record if he thinks he still has it.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Probably a 50/50 if they win the cup this year. Go out on top or go for the consecutive games played record if he thinks he still has it.

Sure if he wins a cup this year that might change things. But my gut from watching him out there, his interviews, etc. is that he'll stick around a while longer (2-3+ years) and is just enjoying playing in the league and being productive still, especially for a contending team. And from the team perspective, he fits great on the ice and in the locker room and at his age is cheaper than his production. He's been paid plenty and I think would be fine going on 1-2 year deals at this point and the team is willing to risk the age-related drop off on a short term deal like that. The ironman and total games played records being in play are just icing on the cake. We'll see how it plays out but this is all my best guess. I've been wrong plenty lol.

 

[Svechhammer]

Probably a 50/50 if they win the cup this year. Go out on top or go for the consecutive games played record if he thinks he still has it.

If we win the Cup this year, I can confidently say that the specific nuances of the defense next year will probably be toward the bottom of my worry list, all things considered.

And I have to think if we do, Burns is probably leaning toward calling it a career and going out on top. He ain't exactly young anymore. Same with Jordo, to be honest.