Alexander Nikishin has yet to make his debut this season, as he’s still battling his old injury that took him out of last season’s playoffs. It was a good run for SKA and the defenseman. “The season went by fast!” he says as he led his team in scoring last season, with 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) in 67 games.
***You can enjoy the original talk with Alexander Nikishin in his native Russian on sobaka.ru here!***
Stats Matter
Nikishin admits to paying some attention to his own numbers. “I started paying attention when I began scoring points more consistently; it helps to compare my results from the previous and current seasons. Once the games are over, you look at the numbers and draw conclusions.” After all, while club success is what motivates athletes, numbers are still important. “Stats matter when your contract is ending, or when a player is older and deciding which club to continue their career with,” he admits. “But for me, it’s more about how I’m performing right now.”
The young defenseman is also very focused on his game. “I’m very self-critical; I can spend a whole week replaying a bad game in my head. So I try not to play badly.”
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He also added some other interesting thoughts: “In hockey, it’s like Shakespeare said: all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. We all have our roles—defenseman, scorer, goalie. I’m a defenseman, and I can’t change my role if I’m needed on defense. But when the situation calls for it—when the guys are attacking—I can join in to create a strong combination with four forwards instead of three. In that sense, you need to be interchangeable.”
Nikishin also says that he tries to follow other players to improve his game. “We all keep an eye on each other and note technical or tactical elements,” the defenseman explains. “There are also examples right in front of us: Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. There’s a lot of negativity around Karlsson right now, people saying he’s not the same player anymore, but I like his style: how he handles the puck, how he racks up points. It’s impressive!”
When Will Nikishin Move?
It would be interesting to see Nikishin play in the NHL, but he isn’t thinking about that right now. “As long as I have an active contract with SKA, I can’t make any promises,” Nikishin says. “The Carolina Hurricanes drafted me in 2020, so I’m considered a potential player for them—a prospect.”
Being a prospect isn’t being part of the team, but he has had constant contact with the Canes. “I stay in touch with the scouts, managers, and leadership—we discuss my performance. Sometimes the coaches reach out and offer advice: they send video analysis of games and explain what I can improve in my technique.” Especially, they discuss the differences in the game on the two sides of the ocean. “In North American hockey, it’s all about short passes and team pressure—two or three players rush in to make a turnover—so the game is faster. Here, it’s more fluid, with a kind of pause: you have time to lift your head and decide where to pass.”
Back in 2022, Nikishin was part of a trade that made history in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), when he was traded from Spartak to SKA in a monster deal. “I was more surprised and thought it was cool, and obviously beneficial for both sides,” he recalls. “In the first days, all was good, no pressure: we knew each other from competitions. One thing led to another, and we started talking with everyone.” Nikishin’s game and presence were so good that he was elected as the team’s captain mid-season. “I was appointed because the previous captain, Alexander Kadeikin, got injured,” he humbly admits. “But we hold elections every year, so I might hand over the role soon.”
Being a captain is not easy. “The captain is always in a heightened zone of responsibility: from reporting to the coaching staff on behalf of the team to organizing events for celebrations,” he laughs. “Also, any player can come to me with questions. But considering my age—I’m basically the youngest on SKA—and my half-year experience as captain, I still have a lot to learn from the guys.”
Nikishin has yet to play this season, but his goals are clear already: “Since it’s the final year of my contract with SKA, I want to play the best season of my career. And as a team, we aim to play well, reach the Gagarin Cup Final, and then do everything we can to win.” And then, becoming a critical part of the Hurricanes will only be a matter of time.
