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

Excited it's happening. We'll see how he fits in this year. Hopefully, the visa issues will be not as bad as expected and he can play in those final two games.
 
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NIKISHIN AL GAIB HAS SIGNED IN RALEIGH
 
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This sit Burns for the playoffs narrative makes no sense. He’s playing too much but he’s still better at hockey than the 3 other RD they have.

If the plan is to just throw Nikishin in (I doubt it):

Slavin-Burns
Nikishin-Orlov
Ghost-Walker

Would be my guess.

I still sincerely doubt Rod benches any of the 6 guys that just played the whole season on D though. It would be the most anti Rod move of all time.,
 
I like Ghost, but his second half of the season has been pretty rough. Perhaps still effects from the injury earlier this season, especially given he's out now. Considering how abysmal the PP has been for the most part, I don't have an issue if he's scratched at any point. I might be wrong, but Burns is not likely going to get scratched, so it seems silly to keep banging that drum.
 
This sit Burns for the playoffs narrative makes no sense. He’s playing too much but he’s still better at hockey than the 3 other RD they have.

If the plan is to just throw Nikishin in (I doubt it):

Slavin-Burns
Nikishin-Orlov
Ghost-Walker

Would be my guess.

I still sincerely doubt Rod benches any of the 6 guys that just played the whole season on D though. It would be the most anti Rod move of all time.,
It really just depends on how good they determine that Nikishin is. If they feel he's too good not to play, he plays, regardless of top 6 chemistry
 
I like Ghost, but his second half of the season has been pretty rough. Perhaps still effects from the injury earlier this season, especially given he's out now. Considering how abysmal the PP has been for the most part, I don't have an issue if he's scratched at any point. I might be wrong, but Burns is not likely going to get scratched, so it seems silly to keep banging that drum.
Problem is the pp looks way better when ghost is on it then it does burns. I have no doubt Nikishin could run a pp but would Rod do it hell no
 
Problem is the pp looks way better when ghost is on it then it does burns. I have no doubt Nikishin could run a pp but would Rod do it hell no
I don't disagree it looks better with Ghost than Burns (duh), but other than the run of a few games recently, it still hasn't performed well consistently. We'll see on Rod. Nikishin is a different caliber of prospect with a different level of pro experience than 99% of prospects that come into the league.
 
I don't disagree it looks better with Ghost than Burns (duh), but other than the run of a few games recently, it still hasn't performed well consistently. We'll see on Rod. Nikishin is a different caliber of prospect with a different level of pro experience than 99% of prospects that come into the league.

I have no doubts he can step in and contribute right away.

Afterall, legend says he will know of our ways as if he was trained in them
 
It really just depends on how good they determine that Nikishin is. If they feel he's too good not to play, he plays, regardless of top 6 chemistry
With how long it generally takes defenseman to figure out the man to man thing - the playoffs isn’t exactly the best time to test that out. But yeah - if he makes it obvious he’s as advertised in practice I get it.
 
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On another note. We only saw like 40-50 seconds of it. But Morrow looked pretty good on PP 2 last night.
Morrow could probably be in there over Chatfield tbh and would give them more offence and he can definitely run pp 1. He does have some defence lapses but that’s expected. Hes already so confident with the puck in the offensive zone
 
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This sit Burns for the playoffs narrative makes no sense. He’s playing too much but he’s still better at hockey than the 3 other RD they have.

If the plan is to just throw Nikishin in (I doubt it):

Slavin-Burns
Nikishin-Orlov
Ghost-Walker

Would be my guess.

I still sincerely doubt Rod benches any of the 6 guys that just played the whole season on D though. It would be the most anti Rod move of all time.,
Burns & Ghost have been the weak links second half of the year.

FWIW: If you have just signed a world class defensemen it's madness not to play him. Ghost has not been the same since mid-season injury. Re Burns: he offers no physicality, & his skating & shooting has significantly declined this year.

Moreover and as importantly, Burns' hockey decision making has become really bad (bad passes, unnecessary icings, etc) which in tight playoff games are areas you can't have.

As I noted many posts back, in 1980 after the Olympics, Al Arbour (who is in the pantheon of greatest NHL coaches) put Ken Morrow into the starting lineup immediately. Arbour liked his vets but was never afraid to put talented young guys in the lineup. Isles won the Cup & then 3 more.

In 1984, Jacques Lemaire put Chris Chelios in the lineup for 12 games after Olympic duty (he was in College the year before) and he then played a top D role for the playoffs. Canadians won two series, and ultimately lost in the semi-Finals (only losing in 6 games).

That's what you do when you have good to great players. You play them and someone sits, even if it is a veteran.
 
Burns & Ghost have been the weak links second half of the year.

FWIW: If you have just signed a world class defensemen it's madness not to play him. Ghost has not been the same since mid-season injury. Re Burns: he offers no physicality, & his skating & shooting has significantly declined this year.

Moreover and as importantly, Burns' hockey decision making has become really bad (bad passes, unnecessary icings, etc) which in tight playoff games are areas you can't have.

As I noted many posts back, in 1980 after the Olympics, Al Arbour (who is in the pantheon of greatest NHL coaches) put Ken Morrow into the starting lineup immediately. Arbour liked his vets but was never afraid to put talented young guys in the lineup. Isles won the Cup & then 3 more.

In 1984, Jacques Lemaire put Chris Chelios in the lineup for 12 games after Olympic duty (he was in College the year before) and he then played a top D role for the playoffs. Canadians won two series, and ultimately lost in the semi-Finals (only losing in 6 games).

That's what you do when you have good to great players. You play them and someone sits, even if it is a veteran.
Those examples are players who played in the regular season, they weren’t dropped into game 1 of the playoffs. I can’t think of an example of a guy like that though, dropped into the playoffs with no regular season. Did Makar do that? I’m sure there are examples I just can’t think of them.

I hope he’s so good that it’s obvious that he needs to play. I’m not the one that has to be convinced though.
 
Those examples are players who played in the regular season, they weren’t dropped into game 1 of the playoffs. I can’t think of an example of a guy like that though, dropped into the playoffs with no regular season. Did Makar do that? I’m sure there are examples I just can’t think of them.

I hope he’s so good that it’s obvious that he needs to play. I’m not the one that has to be convinced though.
McAvoy
 
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Those examples are players who played in the regular season, they weren’t dropped into game 1 of the playoffs. I can’t think of an example of a guy like that though, dropped into the playoffs with no regular season. Did Makar do that? I’m sure there are examples I just can’t think of them.

I hope he’s so good that it’s obvious that he needs to play. I’m not the one that has to be convinced though.
Fair point: Morrow played 18, Chelios 12
 
Those examples are players who played in the regular season, they weren’t dropped into game 1 of the playoffs. I can’t think of an example of a guy like that though, dropped into the playoffs with no regular season. Did Makar do that? I’m sure there are examples I just can’t think of them.

I hope he’s so good that it’s obvious that he needs to play. I’m not the one that has to be convinced though.
Yes, Makar started in the 18/19 playoffs without any regular season games. They even put him on PP1 almost immediately.
 

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