WASHINGTON – Alexander Nikishin, without a helmet for warm-up, took his first solo lap before Game 5 of the Carolina Hurricanes’ second-round series against Washington, marking his NHL debut.
The situation forced Nikishin to replace the injured Jalen Chatfield, going directly from playing in Russia to participating in the playoffs. The organization’s top prospect played 10 and a half minutes as a substitute on defense, receiving praise from his teammates and coach Rod Brind’Amour.
I don’t think there’s a tougher place to put a kid, especially when there’s such a big language barrier. I thought he did well. We got a little lucky on the offside because he lost the puck, but he hung in there. And you can see he’s going to be a good player for us and has a bright future.
Rod Brind’Amour
Nikishin avoided being on the losing side of a Capitals goal thanks to an offside review. He was consistent in most of his 16 shifts on Thursday night.
I thought it was great. He’s a big guy, skates well, shoots the puck well. He really finished some plays in the defensive zone and in the offensive zone you can see that he can make a good shot. It was great to see.
Sean Walker
Brind’Amour and Walker praised Dmitry Orlov and the other Russians on the Hurricanes for helping the 23-year-old, newly arrived in North America, adapt as best as possible. Nikishin left the KHL earlier this spring and signed his first NHL contract last month.
I was very nervous when a Russian comes and starts playing, but I tried to give him some advice and I think he did a great job. I can’t imagine coming from Russia and playing a playoff game. It must be very difficult. But he did a great job. I am very proud of him.
Svechnikov
Alexander Nikishin, the Hurricanes’ top prospect (21), played 10 and a half minutes in place of injured defenseman Jalen Chatfield in the Game 5 victory over the Capitals and received high praise from his teammates and coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Chatfield appeared to suffer an injury in Game 4. The team announced early in warmups that Chatfield would not play in Game 5 due to an undisclosed injury.
It was a big loss.
Rod Brind’Amour
Carolina will face Florida or Toronto in the Eastern Conference final. Walker, Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Brent Burns played some extra minutes in the absence of Chatfield on Thursday night, but they would love to have him in the lineup for the first game of the third round.
We really miss Chatty. He’s a big part of our defensive body back there, so we’ll be excited to have him back.
Sean Walker
