LD Alexander Nikishin - SKA St.Petersburg, KHL (2020, 69th, CAR)

[WarriorofTime]

Prospect? He's the best Defenseman outside of the NHL, period.

 

[WarriorofTime]

The KHL are now playing on smaller ice, no? Or very close to NA size rink

Correct, about half of KHL arenas are NHL dimensions and about half are wider by a negligible amount. I'm not sure what the poster you quoted is even referring to as far as "trouble adjusting"

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Impressive,He could be the next great Russian D-man in years

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Am I the only one who thinks he’ll have trouble adjusting to N/A ice?

You are correct, sir!

 

[Kaners PPGs]

You are correct, sir!

What part of Nikishin's game do you not think will transfer?

 

[Guadana]

What part of Nikishin's game do you not think will transfer?

The ability to cause silly comments.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Am I the only one who thinks he’ll have trouble adjusting to N/A ice?

Yes you most likely are

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

The only thing getting in the way of signing Nikishin are current contracts and they will drop off soon enough!Actually the whole bunch will either be traded,released or signed but not at expense of the youngster Nikishin

 

[wetcoast]

Prospect? He's the best Defenseman outside of the NHL, period.

That by definition is a prospect.

 

[Garl]

Best defenseman outside of NHL? Maybe. But it is a meaningless title nowadays. Long gone are the times when euro hockey had Kenny Jonsson or Alexei Morozov.
He is a good prospect, but as expected, overrated here. As i have said, maybe future Mattias Ekholm type.

That by definition is a prospect.

Alexander Radulov is a prospect?

 

[WarriorofTime]

That by definition is a prospect.

There are 30 year olds outside the NHL.

 

[wetcoast]

Best defenseman outside of NHL? Maybe. But it is a meaningless title nowadays. Long gone are the times when euro hockey had Kenny Jonsson or Alexei Morozov.
He is a good prospect, but as expected, overrated here. As i have said, maybe future Mattias Ekholm type.


Alexander Radulov is a prospect?

One guy has zero NHL games and your guy has 524 NHL games but I thought everyone knew that?

 

[WarriorofTime]

He is a good prospect, but as expected, overrated here.

Color me shocked that Garl thinks a Russian player is overrated.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Nikishin will be a very good NHLer when the time comes which maybe earlier than expected...getting Orlov on board and having Star Svechnikov here to soften the Adjust period is a good thing to have! And by then I expect Kochetkov to be the numero Uno netminder

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Monstrous level of play. Best non-NHL player. He will easily integrate a top 4 upon his arrival.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

The only thing getting in the way of signing Nikishin are current contracts and they will drop off soon enough!Actually the whole bunch will either be traded,released or signed but not at expense of the youngster Nikishin

by "current contracts", I assume you mean his contract with the KHL.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

by "current contracts", I assume you mean his contract with the KHL.

Actually all the D-men on the Hurricanes contracts will lapse in a year or two

 

[LeafChief]

Best defenseman outside of NHL? Maybe. But it is a meaningless title nowadays. Long gone are the times when euro hockey had Kenny Jonsson or Alexei Morozov.
He is a good prospect, but as expected, overrated here. As i have said, maybe future Mattias Ekholm type.


Alexander Radulov is a prospect?

Ekholm is a pretty damn solid defenceman.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Actually all the D-men on the Hurricanes contracts will lapse in a year or two

The Canes would have made room for him if they could have signed him, but they can't, because he's under contract in the KHL for another couple of years.

They went out and signed Orlov, DeAngelo, Jones, etc...this year, in part, because Nikishin cannot be signed to an NHL contract until either (a) his KHL contract expires or (b) Nikishin buys out his own KHL contract.

It has very little to do with what contracts Carolina has today. I do think they only signed Orlov for 2 years with the intention of being able to sign Nikishin once his KHL deal is up.

 

[BKarchitect]

Ekholm is a pretty damn solid defenceman.

No kidding. Prime Ekholm is a top pairing beast who can matchup against any line. Hell he is 33 and still a top (arguably the top) defenseman on a Cup contending team. I think the Canes will "settle" for that outcome. And that kind of projection with the very readily apparent (low risk) impact that he's already showing absolutely makes him a contender for one of the best defensive prospects in the league. There will probably be a handful of guys with a higher overall outcome but in terms of risk-reward weighting of a prospect's value to a franchise - Nikishin is right up there and his development path and expected arrival time and ability to impact the game immediately when he arrives fits Carolina's situation like a glove.

 

[Random Comment]

Ekholm is a pretty damn solid defenceman.

He’s got a much better chance of QBing a PP1 than Ekholm ever did. I don’t think he will be as rock solid defensively (and he’s no slouch) but definitely a better shot and offensive instincts than ekholm. I see him more similar to Hedman, if we’re talking stylistic.

At this stage he’s just a far better prospect than Ekholm was. That’ll butt-hurt a bunch of people but c’est la vie.

 

[Zine]

He’s got a much better chance of QBing a PP1 than Ekholm ever did. I don’t think he will be as rock solid defensively (and he’s no slouch) but definitely a better shot and offensive instincts than ekholm. I see him more similar to Hedman, if we’re talking stylistic.

At this stage he’s just a far better prospect than Ekholm was. That’ll butt-hurt a bunch of people but c’est la vie.

This. Nikishin will likely have the same value as Ekholm. But stylistically Nikishin has much better offensive instinces, while Ekholm is better in his own zone. But both are (potential for Nikishin) 1st paring guys who can eat up minutes.

The big difference is Nikishin has offensive instincts to run a PP. While Ekholm can do it too it's not his strength per se. He's more of a PP 2 guy.
That could set Nikishin apart if we're talking about absolute upside.

 

[WADEugottaBELAKthat]

Maybe my glasses are foggy but I see prime Brent Burns here. A two-way, swashbuckling, prodigious Alpha Bear. A perennial star. People are popping up here calling him overrated as if he was ever rated at all haha - dude was a 3rd round pick. He just completed arguably the most impossibly ridiculous statistical season in KHL-prospect history and it looks like he’s just getting warmed up! This dude is nasty no ifs ands or buts. That’s my 2 cents

 

[Kaners PPGs]

Maybe my glasses are foggy but I see prime Brent Burns here. A two-way, swashbuckling, prodigious Alpha Bear. A perennial star. People are popping up here calling him overrated as if he was ever rated at all haha - dude was a 3rd round pick. He just completed arguably the most impossibly ridiculous statistical season in KHL-prospect history and it looks like he’s just getting warmed up! This dude is nasty no ifs ands or buts. That’s my 2 cents

I like the Burns comp. With his shot, physicality and meanness, I'm getting some Shea Weber vibes.

 

[Jives]

Struggling on where to put him for a keeper pool where you get a player for 7 years. Only points count type pool. Players available in my top 5 are…

1. Pelikka
2. Simashev
3. Gulyayev
4. Reinbacher
5. Willander

You can disagree with the order that’s fine. Does he get drafted 1st over these players? Who is drafted higher than him in your opinion? I think I slide him into the 2 spot but I’d like to hear others. Some are saying he is a 40 point guy others think 70 points. I’m having a tough time with him.