The Carolina Hurricanes made an interesting choice pregame.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour gave Alexander Nikishin a jersey ahead of Game 4, and the top prospect defenseman took warmups with his teammates. The 23-year-old rearguard, however, ultimately did not dress for the contest.
Per Canes reporter Walt Ruff, the skate represented Nikishin’s first time on the ice before a game with the Hurricanes.
Nikishin, a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, made his way to North America after SKA Saint Petersburg was eliminated in the first round of the Gagarin Cup Playoffs. On April 11, he had his KHL contract with SKA terminated and signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Hurricanes.
The Orel, Russia native posted 46 points (17g, 29a) in 61 games during the KHL regular season, where he served as the team’s captain for a second straight year. Nikishin was teammates with former Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and current Montreal Canadiens phenom Ivan Demidov.
After Nikishin originally arrived in Raleigh, there were some concerns surrounding the Hurricanes not immediately signing him to a deal, but those concerns were almost immediately resolved once the AHL’s Chicago Wolves were knocked out of the AHL playoffs.
“We had agreed with his agents to keep the options open for Alex to potentially play a game in Chicago at some point,” Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky told NHL.com. “But with their season now over, it makes sense to officially register an NHL contract for him, and we are excited for his future with the team.”
The Hurricanes currently have nine defensemen on their playoff roster. The two other extra defensemen, Scott Morrow and Domenick Fensore, have already played NHL games for the Hurricanes this year, so it’s unknown if Nikishin would be the next man up should Carolina face an injury to one of their regular rearguards.
