Alexander Nikishin is going to be a special player.
Three games into his NHL career and that already feels like a bygone conclusion.
Sure, he was one of the most hyped up prospects in a long time, but there’s a huge difference between playing in the KHL and the NHL.
But honestly, based on what we’ve seen so far, we should perhaps just throw away the ‘going to be’ part, because this hasn’t just been ‘playing in the NHL.’
This isn’t just some random mid-January game against the Anaheim Ducks, this is the Eastern Conference Final, in do-or-die games, yet Nikishin already like an NHL regular.
The rookie defenseman has played north of 18 minutes in back-to-back games, filling in on the team’s top four in the absence of Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker.
He’s looked calm, composed and just unfazed by the whole situation.
You’d never guess that he had just three North American games under his belt with no training camp nor preseason experience.
The play he made to spring Logan Stankoven for the game-winning goal in Game 4? Just ridiculous.
An absolute dart from Logan Stankoven 🎯😮💨
(via @NHL)pic.twitter.com/h5BywBdntE
— BarDown (@BarDown) May 27, 2025
And just the all around defensive game he showed against the defending Stanley Cup champs has been more than impressive.
“I just like that he’s not rattled and that he’s just going out there and playing,” said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Sometimes these young kids come over and come in, even rookies, they don’t realize the moment and how big it is. They’re just playing hockey. Sometimes it takes a couple years to realize, ‘Oh this is pretty important,’ you know? He looks like he’s unfazed. I don’t know. I can’t really tell you, but he’s doing a great job for us.”
It wasn’t like it was an immediate fit for Nikishin either, who had to wait several weeks for the chance to make his NHL debut.
He was the first guy to jump into the lineup when Chatfield went down with injury, but in that game against the Washington Capitals, he turned the puck over multiple times and was just constantly in the wrong spots.
“His first game wasn’t very positive,” Brind’Amour said. “It was a little rough. But now he looked like he’s played more than one game in North America.”
So what gives?
Well, for one, Nikishin has had plenty of time to learn the systems since coming over to North America in April.
“[Assistant coach Tim Gleason] has worked with him daily on how we want to play,” Brind’Amour said. “He knows how to play even with the language issues. He’s picking it up really quickly and it’s been a month now. He’s been here and everyday he’s going through stuff. That’s really encouraging for an organization standpoint and for us trusting him.”
But there’s also just the fact that he’s had the opportunity to get the butterflies out and now he knows that he’s being counted on in an important situation.
And at the end of the day, elite players rise to the occasions.
“I was really proud of how from one game to the next, it changed,” Brind’Amour said. “We have a good one there for sure.”
Hindsight is 20/20, but with the way Nikishin is playing, it really makes you wonder if he could have made a difference in those first two games.
“We went to him and it was a rough first outing, but obviously he’s seizing the moment right now,” Brind’Amour said.
“It’s a tough time of the year to come in as a rookie and play minutes like that, so it’s huge,” said Jaccob Slavin. “The games that they played tonight were awesome and I’d say a big congrats to Niki on his first point. That’s awesome and happy for him.”
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