The wait is over: Nikishin is on the way

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Aside from Pronger who does he compare to perhaps more realistically? Seems promising. NHL desperately needs physicality.

Left handed Seider.

 

[HabsMD97]

Is this a joke? Is terms of their current playing ability, he’s head and shoulders above them

the player who is 5 years older is currently the better player? You're kidding me!

 

[Garbageyuk]

Yes I get that. At 23 Pronger was also exceptionally dumb. Is this guy dumb enough to compare?

Some of this stuff we won’t know for sure till we see him in the league.

At 23 Pronger was playing 25:00+ minutes per game, led the league in plus-minus at +47, finished 3rd in Norris voting and got Hart Trophy votes. Yeah, real dumb. Nikishin might not have a season like that in his entire career lol.

Nikishin ain’t Pronger. Pronger was light years ahead at the same age. Why would you even say that? Lmao.

 

[ole ole]

Among prospects not currently playing in the NHL, he is widely viewed as the best player currently.

Is he though?

Who are the top players outside the NHL? Ranking the top 50 prospects

No. 1-ranked player Ivan Demidov -- the fifth overall pick this summer -- was an easy choice, with lots of debate thereafter.

www.espn.com

Montreal Canadiens' Ivan Demidov rated No. 1 on Craig Button’s Top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list | TSN

Montreal Canadiens blue-chipper Ivan Demidov, in the middle of a record-setting season in the KHL, is the No. 1 player on Craig Button’s top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list.

www.tsn.ca

Look he may be the best prospect outside the nhl. Seems others are also widely viewed,

But on Nikishin your getting a guy that should be able to step right in at a high pace and keep it up. Gonna be a good one it seems.

 

[ole ole]

Well, #1, he's a d-man, so understandable. #2, maybe he's a better player.

Maybe ,maybe not, But come on don't play dumb you know what has going on with Demidov . Most know why his ice time has been so low. You know too,

 

[ole ole]

Is this a joke? Is terms of their current playing ability, he’s head and shoulders above them

Well i wouldn't say that. One is doing in the NHL as a rookie.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Then why did you wrote that ?

"Alex Nikishin is widely viewed as the best prospect currently outside the NHL."

Widely viewed by nobody else but you.

I also hold this opinion

 

[bud12]

Well, #1, he's a d-man, so understandable. #2, maybe he's a better player.

IF you watched some ska games this year, you would know that's bullshit

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

David Jiricek was the best junior player in the world until he was not. It's a big step to the NHL and not everyone makes it. He is a prospect until he is not. Nothing is guaranteed.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Then why did you wrote that ?

"Alex Nikishin is widely viewed as the best prospect currently outside the NHL."

Widely viewed by nobody else but you.

I linked to a thread one month old where Nikishin was the consensus #1.

Even if you don’t agree, it is a fact that he is widely (not unanimously) viewed as the best young player not currently playing in the NHL.

 

[tarheelhockey]

At 23 Pronger was playing 25:00+ minutes per game, led the league in plus-minus at +47, finished 3rd in Norris voting and got Hart Trophy votes. Yeah, real dumb. Nikishin might not have a season like that in his entire career lol.

And he was among the dumbest players in the National Hockey League, a nonstop penalty machine and bad-decision-maker for his first several years in the league. Including his off ice life, where he famously got arrested for drunk driving three weeks after he got arrested for a fighting in a bar.

I’m not sure the reason to push back on that characterization. He was a very athletically talented meathead.

Nikishin ain’t Pronger. Pronger was light years ahead at the same age. Why would you even say that? Lmao.

For god’s sake.

“A Pronger-like profile”

is not the same thing as

“A perfect replicant of Chris Pronger, grown in a lab from a DNA sample. Carefully cultivated from birth in a secure facility, he has experienced precisely the same formative upbringing by a group of paid actors imitating the original Pronger family, such that he is now indistinguishable from the original. Early tests have shown that actual members of the Pronger family cannot distinguish him as an imitation, even after several weeks of cohabitation.”

Two different things there. While apparently controversial, it’s fair to say he will not actually BE Chris Pronger, he simply profiles as the same type of player.

 

[tarheelhockey]

David Jiricek was the best junior player in the world until he was not. It's a big step to the NHL and not everyone makes it. He is a prospect until he is not. Nothing is guaranteed.

Sure, but the step from juniors to the NHL =/= the step from the KHL to the NHL. This guy has been playing against bona fide NHL’ers for a while now.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Look he may be the best prospect outside the nhl. Seems others are also widely viewed,

Nobody said there’s a unanimous opinion on the matter of who’s the best prospect.

Multiple players can “widely” be considered #1. It’s one of the nice features of the word “widely”.

Yet one, and only one, group of fans has decided to flood this thread and make it all about their guy and not anybody else’s guy.

 

[koyvoo]

I’ve been patiently waiting for his arrival as well. Not because I’m a Canes fan, but I drafted him in my fantasy dynasty league a few years back.

My one question/concern right now is after the ridiculous couple of years in the K, why was TDA just handed the reigns for the time he was there?

I was asking this with the hopes that someone had some insight, because it didn’t really make sense to me.

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

Sure, but the step from juniors to the NHL =/= the step from the KHL to the NHL. This guy has been playing against bona fide NHL’ers for a while now.

Steve Mason won the Calder. I have learned to temper my expectations with prospects.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I was asking this with the hopes that someone had some insight, because it didn’t really make sense to me.

It seems he played pretty well while he was there. It would seem he wouldn’t have signed there without a clear understanding that he would play a prominent role, which he successfully flipped into an NHL contract after being right at the top of the league in D scoring.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Steve Mason won the Calder. I have learned to temper my expectations with prospects.

Again, Mason went directly from the OHL to the NHL, so there’s really not a comparable. This is closer to the Flames calling up Dustin Wolf after he had a ton of AHL experience to solidify himself as a legit contender for the #1 job on the parent club.

(And it’s not like Mason didn’t have that good run in Philly)

 

[Big Trout]

Any news if/when SKA is releasing him?

 

[CarolinaBlueJacket]

Again, Mason went directly from the OHL to the NHL, so there’s really not a comparable. This is closer to the Flames calling up Dustin Wolf after he had a ton of AHL experience to solidify himself as a legit contender for the #1 job on the parent club.

(And it’s not like Mason didn’t have that good run in Philly)

Uhhh... He won the Calder in the NHL as the top rookie.
Just know that this guy is still a prospect. He may get well turn out to be an All Star but that is far from guaranteed.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Any news if/when SKA is releasing him?

Waiting patiently. Presumably there are negotiations behind the scenes.

 

[seafoam]

As someone who has Hedman and Nikishin in a keeper fantasy league, I hope the latter ends up similar to the former.

 

[Ezpz]

I linked to a thread one month old where Nikishin was the consensus #1.

Even if you don’t agree, it is a fact that he is widely (not unanimously) viewed as the best young player not currently playing in the NHL.

Except that zero hockey ops lists have him there and there's not a single insider list that's been published that doesn't have Demidov as the top prospect in hockey.

Thinking HFBoards voting against Habs/Leafs/Canucks players is a relevant metric is laughable.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Except that zero hockey ops lists have him there and there's not a single insider list that's been published that doesn't have Demidov as the top prospect in hockey.

Thinking HFBoards voting against Habs/Leafs/Canucks players is a relevant metric is laughable.

Okay, thank you for your input. Please create a Demidov thread and go talk about him there, as this is not the place.

 

[chaz4hockey]

Lol did I bring him up? Careful you're insecurity is showing

Nah.....

You demonstrated insecurity bashing Nikishin at the expense of promoting your guy. My note suggests that Artamonv had a better year.

To be fair, since moving to Raleigh, Canes fans don't have any insecurity when in comparison to Canadians fans...free rent for us.

Canes have owned Habs in playoffs, '02 & '06, and have significantly dominated during the regular season:

 

[Garbageyuk]

And he was among the dumbest players in the National Hockey League, a nonstop penalty machine and bad-decision-maker for his first several years in the league.

It was a different era. Plenty of top defensemen racked up PIMs back then. Holding him to today’s standards in that regard is disingenuous.

As for the “bad decision maker” part, that’s just bogus. Again, he was a Norris finalist, led the league in plus-minus, and got Hart votes all while logging heavy minutes at age 23. That doesn’t scream low IQ to me, which honestly seems to be what you’re insinuating. He wasn’t all athleticism or size at all, like you are seemingly trying to suggest.

Including his off ice life, where he famously got arrested for drunk driving three weeks after he got arrested for a fighting in a bar.

Irrelevant. How is this relevant to hockey? Especially in a thread about a prospect who’s yet to play an NHL game. You’re grasping at straws here to paint your guy in a favourable light in comparison to one of the greats. So weird.

is not the same thing as

“A perfect replicant of Chris Pronger, grown in a lab from a DNA sample. Carefully cultivated from birth in a secure facility, he has experienced precisely the same formative upbringing by a group of paid actors imitating the original Pronger family, such that he is now indistinguishable from the original. Early tests have shown that actual members of the Pronger family cannot distinguish him as an imitation, even after several weeks of cohabitation.”

Two different things there. While apparently controversial, it’s fair to say he will not actually BE Chris Pronger, he simply profiles as the same type of player.

The point is that they aren’t at all similar, even stylistically lmao. It’s such a strange comparison. Again, it just seems like you picked Pronger because he’s a tall HOF two-way defenseman, ignoring how unique he was beyond that because you wanted to hype your guy as much as possible lol. Nevermind that Pronger at the same age was already one of the best D in the world. They are nothing alike lol

Nikitin is much closer to a guy like Zaitsev than he is Chris Pronger.