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Fantasy Summary

A big-bodied defenceman with an aggressive mindset and a big slapshot.


Observations

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June 2023 – A season to remember for Nikishin sees him develop into a legit first-pairing defenseman for a SKA that lost in the conference finals to the eventual champion, CSKA. In the regular season, Nikishin has 55 points in 65 games (a 43 point improvement from 21-22), which was good enough for first in points for a defenceman in the entire KHL! Nikishin played in all situations, has physicality beyond his age and somehow monumentally improved his point production. He will step into the Hurricanes lineup in 2024-25 and probably assume a top four role on his arrival. Nick Bass

 

March 2022 – Nikishin is a big bodied 20-year-old, at 6 foot 4 and 220 pounds already. He has eight goals and four assists in 46 KHL games for Spartak Moskva, good for just outside as a defenseman. He is playing just under 19 minutes a night, with over a hit, shot and block a game, while leading the team in penalty minutes. If Nikishin makes his way to North America and gets on with the Hurricanes, he could very well be a decent peripheral player depending on your league’s settings. Alex Wyatt

 

March 2021 – Nikishin played in all levels of Russian hockey this season but spend most of his season in the KHL (20 games) with Spartak Moskva. Although his role in the KHL was limited he did manage a goal and four assists during the regular season and appeared in four playoff games. After his KHL season was over he went back to the MHL for two playoff games. Austin Broad

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 9.0
NHL Certainty 9.3
Country RUS
Position D
Roster Type Junior
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth October 2, 2001
Height 6‘4”
Weight 216 lbs
Drafted 2020 Round 3; Overall: 69

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2016-2017 CSKA Moskva U16Russia U1631 3 1215 10|        
  CSKA Moskva U16Russia U16 Finals6 1 23 2|        
 2017-2018 CSKA Moskva U17Russia U172 0 33 0|        
  Russia U17 (all)International-Jr3 1 01 0|        
 2018-2019 MHK Krylia Sovetov MoskvaMHL62 8 1725 55|        
 2019-2020 Spartak MoskvaKHL29 0 33 2|Playoffs3 0 11
  Khimik VoskresenskVHL2 0 00 0|        
  MHK Spartak MoskvaMHL6 0 33 4|Playoffs2 0 00
 2020-2021 Spartak MoskvaKHL20 1 45 4|Playoffs4 0 00
  Khimik VoskresenskVHL3 0 33 0|Playoffs2 0 00
  MHK Spartak MoskvaMHL1 0 00 2|Playoffs2 1 12
 2021-2022 Spartak MoskvaKHL46 8 412 39|Playoffs3 1 12
  RussiaEHT7 0 11 2|        
  Khimik VoskresenskVHL0 0 00 0|Playoffs3 0 22
  Russia OG6 0 00 4|        
  Russia (all)International13 0 11 6|        
 2022-2023 SKA St. PetersburgKHL65 11 4455 50|Playoffs16 4 48 10 
  Russia 25 (all)International9 0 66 2|        
  Russia (all)International2 0 11 2|        
 2023-2024 SKA St. PetersburgKHL67 17 3956 39|Playoffs5 1 01
  Russia 25 (all)International3 1 23 0|        
 2024-2025 SKA St. PetersburgKHL- - -- -|        

Highlights