Prospect Info: #69(nice)OA - Hurricanes select LHD Alexander Nikishin (Spartak - KHL)
- Thread starter DaveG
- Start date
w e l o s t b o y s
Drawing Frog 8
Apparently has a cardiac issue and can't play until he gets permitted to
- Dec 6, 2011
- 12,326
- 39,152
Don't know nuffin about him. Big boy, so that's nice.
Unsustainable
Seth Jarvis is Elite
2Minutes4Surging
Registered User
THW Prospect Profile-
Whenever you have a big-bodied teenage defenseman receiving meaningful minutes in one of the top hockey leagues in the world, people will take note. This has been the case for Russian defensive prospect Alexander Nikishin, a 6-foot-3, 196-pound hitting machine who played in nearly 30 games for Spartak Moskva of the KHL in 2019-20.
While he saw little offensive success, posting just three points, he made a number of highlight-reel defensive plays, laying down disruptive hits that helped influence the outcome of games. He is also in line to continue receiving top-four minutes with Moskva in 2020-21, meaning that he will get to continue developing his game against men in the KHL.
This strong play has made Nikishin a very attractive prospect at the 2020 NHL Draft, as teams often fall in love with physical defensemen who can play the body. How high his ceiling is may be in question, however, as he still needs to work on some fundamentals like skating and control to supplement his already great defensive instincts.
Whenever you have a big-bodied teenage defenseman receiving meaningful minutes in one of the top hockey leagues in the world, people will take note. This has been the case for Russian defensive prospect Alexander Nikishin, a 6-foot-3, 196-pound hitting machine who played in nearly 30 games for Spartak Moskva of the KHL in 2019-20.
While he saw little offensive success, posting just three points, he made a number of highlight-reel defensive plays, laying down disruptive hits that helped influence the outcome of games. He is also in line to continue receiving top-four minutes with Moskva in 2020-21, meaning that he will get to continue developing his game against men in the KHL.
This strong play has made Nikishin a very attractive prospect at the 2020 NHL Draft, as teams often fall in love with physical defensemen who can play the body. How high his ceiling is may be in question, however, as he still needs to work on some fundamentals like skating and control to supplement his already great defensive instincts.
"I love the fact that the first thing everybody says is 'this guy loves the open-ice hits.'"
- Dave Reid
- Dave Reid
- Dec 6, 2011
- 12,326
- 39,152
A little bit of grit in the system isn't a bad thing for sure.
AhosDatsyukian
Registered User
- Sep 25, 2020
- 10,860
- 31,531
Can't say I know much about him but I do like taking a shot on Russians so good pick in my book
2Minutes4Surging
Registered User
I randomly clicked around a bit, and at 15 minutes exactly he has a great play. Boops a guy off the puck behind his net, goes end to end and takes a decent sharp angle shot then hustles back to his own zone and decks the guy with the puck.
I like this kid.
2Minutes4Surging
Registered User
around 6:00 starts a series of stick-handling clips. This guy has great handles, especially for his size. It is kind of insane.
Quote from THW - "
His hands are those of a top line winger. When he has the puck on his stick, it seems superglued. This allows him to pull off some of the most impressive dekes and zone exits/entries of all draft eligible players, regardless of position."
Alexander Taxman – futurescopehockey.com
some of the plays in that MHL reel are just crazy. he's running roughshod over kids.
Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
I like guys who already have their own nicknames -- especially nicknames like "BOOM".
CanesFanBudMan
Borg member
- Jun 14, 2016
- 1,739
- 6,986
Other than his size and that he likes to hit the different scouting reports are all over the place
Unsustainable
Seth Jarvis is Elite
Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
For a third round pick, I'll take "big" and "likes to hit" as the consensus any day of the week if he's got some upside.
AhosDatsyukian
Registered User
- Sep 25, 2020
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- 31,531
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Me: “Alexander Nikishin. Never heard of him. But his name is that of a man who loves to knock the **** out of people.”
Minutes later:
Minutes later:
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
Big guy who likes to truck people and isn’t known for his offence is comparable to...pk subban?
The scouting reports are kind of all over the place with this kid.
His name definitely sounds like a giant James Bond henchman who just tosses people out of moving trains.
I like it.
A guy we can count on in a couple years to put Wilson in the front-row seats if he pulls some typical Tom Wilson ****?
I like it a lot.
A guy we can count on in a couple years to put Wilson in the front-row seats if he pulls some typical Tom Wilson ****?
I like it a lot.
- Aug 24, 2006
- 7,512
- 18,876
Did you watch the video posted above? That will explain why the scouting reports are all over the place.
When I first saw "big hitter", I thought, 'ah, we played it safe with this one...defensive defenseman'. However, I think this kid fits the mold of "high ceiling, may never make it" players we're stockpiling. Get to the 6:00 mark of that video, where the stickhandling starts. It's seriously impressive. From there, it's scoring plays, end-to-end rushes, and O zone play...all of which will leave you in love with this kid. Then "the bad" starts at 18:56, and...there's some bad, for sure. A bit of the classic trying to do too much, but also a lotta flubs.
I hope no one tries to break the spirit this kid obviously has, putting him in the box where he attempts to make zero mistakes. It appears that he will still be making mistakes 10 years from now, but he's going to make himself some tremendous highlight-reel plays too. That ratio is going to be a big indicator of his longevity as a pro.
