Top prospect Alexander Nikishin leaving KHL to join Hurricanes
Nikishin’s KHL team SKA Saint Petersburg announced Friday that the defenceman has been granted his release to move to the NHL.
Shortly after that, the Hurricanes confirmed Nikishin has signed a two-year, entry-level contract that begins this season. The new deal will pay Nikishin $832,500 per season and includes a $185,000 signing bonus.
“We are grateful for Alexander’s time with SKA, a premier European hockey franchise, which helped him develop into one of the top prospects in hockey,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said in a release. “His size and skill have allowed him to have a record-breaking career in the KHL, and we believe he will be an impactful player in the NHL.”
Nikishin, 23, was a third-round pick by the Hurricanes in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has spent the last three seasons with SKA, most recently as captain, and is coming off his second-straight 17-goal season from the blue line. He has 259 games of KHL experience over parts of five seasons with SKA and Moscow Spartak, and has scored 54 goals and 174 points in that time.
The Hurricanes will finish second in the Metropolitan Division and host the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs. Before that, the Hurricanes have four games remaining on the schedule. One of those games, Wednesday against the Canadiens, could see Nikishin face off against his former SKA teammate Ivan Demidov, who recently signed with Montreal.
