Hurricanes officially sign Nikishin to ELC
Published
The Carolina Hurricanes officially signed prospect defenceman Alexander Nikishin to his entry-level deal, the team announced on Saturday.
Nikishin was drafted 69th overall by Carolina in 2020 and left SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL to join the Hurricanes on April 11.
The delay to getting Nikishin signed to his NHL deal was in order to keep his American Hockey League options open, according to general manager Eric Tulsky.
"We had agreed with his agents to keep the options open for Alex to potentially play a game [with the Chicago Wolves] at some point," said Tulsky in a statement. "But with their season now over, it makes sense to officially register an NHL contract for him, and we're excited for his future with the team."
A left-shot blueliner, Nikishin appeared in 61 games this past season, recording 17 goals and 29 assists. It was his third season with the club after spending his first three Kontinental Hockey League seasons with Spartak Moskva.
For his KHL career, Nikishin had 177 points in 288 games.
Internationally, Nikishin was a member of the Russian Olympic athletes team that won silver at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. He appeared in all six games.