Alexander Nikishin

Last Season

Eleven goals and 22 assists in 81 games — 33 points, plus-18, at 18:11 a night. His first NHL season, having spent five years in Russia after being drafted 69th overall in 2020.

The Finesse Game

More offence than expected. A hundred and ninety-three unblocked attempts from a median of 50 feet with six per cent inside twenty, and eleven goals — a point shooter who gets it through traffic, which is a real and underrated skill.

Twenty-two assists says the first pass is quick and accurate. He is not a carrier; he is a distributor who happens to have a heavy shot.

The Physical Game

Six foot three, 218, and he plays the hard game the rest of this blue line mostly does not. Thirty-three penalty minutes. He clears the crease, closes gaps with contact, and does not mind the corners.

The Intangibles

Fifty-four point eight per cent of the expected goals, 86th percentile, and 58.5 per cent of the shot attempts, 97th, across 1,248 minutes — with the goals 59-42 in his favour, the best margin of any Carolina defenceman.

He is 24 and this was a first NHL season that most first NHL seasons do not resemble. The years in Russia mean he arrived finished rather than raw, which is the whole reason the club waited.

Five points in his last ten. On a blue line with Slavin hurt and Miller carrying the load, he was the one who did not look like he was being carried by the system.