Is Hurricanes prospect Alexander Nikishin the real deal?

Today on Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli, Tyler Yaremchuk and Steven Ellis chatted about Carolina Hurricanes prospect Alexander Nikishin and his contract situation in Russia.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Someone in the chat said, “I want Nikishin in a Canes jersey.” So you go look at his elite prospects page and you’re like, he’s 6-foot0-4, he puts up unbelievable numbers as a defenseman in the KHL and he’s 23. I think for people who don’t follow prospects who are just focused on the NHL like myself, they look at this and go why isn’t this guy playing in the NHL?

Steven Ellis: He’s signed to a contract in the KHL, so that’s the holdup and I believe his contract ends this spring. This is a guy who could get 20 goals this year, he’s going to get over 50 points, and he is putting up incredible numbers. You have to take into account that when he was drafted 69th overall by Carolina in 2020, the big thing about him was he was this big shutdown defenseman, who hit everybody. But then he became this offensive juggernaut in the last couple of years. He’s been a captain in the KHL for the last two years. He’s going to be a top-four defenseman the minute he comes to the NHL, and I’m hoping that’s next season.

Frank Seravalli: Okay, so I have something to add to that, actually. I think the Carolina Hurricanes are trying to bring him over at the end of this KHL season. If you noticed, they did something really interesting with their cap space. They left a performance bonus cushion with a player that they signed, so they would have a million dollars to spend on a performance bonus that they could use to sign him to a contract before the trade deadline. That’s what he would need to be signed. He is on the reserve list already because he’s a draft pick, so he could sign after the deadline and still play in the playoffs, technically. I think they’re already preparing for him to try and come over.