The Carolina Hurricanes are 7-4-0 11 games into the 2025-26 season. They’re only four points behind the Metropolitan Division lead with two games in hand on the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite being down a few NHL regulars, they’ve still been competitive and have gotten contributions from Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, and others. One player who is not being discussed enough, particularly from a national media perspective, is defenseman Alexander Nikishin.
Nikishin’s Stellar Start
The question coming into the season was how Nikishin would adapt to the speed of the NHL after playing in four playoff games last season. Furthermore, how would he overcome the language barrier? During the offseason, Nikishin slowly worked on his English and development to fit within the Hurricanes’ system. There was a sense during training camp and the preseason that Nikishin felt more comfortable within the system, along with making impact plays for the Hurricanes. Then the season started, and it’s been nothing but an upward trajectory for Nikishin in his rookie season.
After 11 games, Nikishin has two goals and six points, tying him for sixth on the Hurricanes with Taylor Hall. The most impressive stat is that he leads the team in plus/minus with a plus-10 rating. A 24-year-old Russian defenseman, in his rookie season, is leading an NHL team in plus/minus. This is a good sign for a young player who some thought would have more growing pains. When it comes to all active rookies, Nikishin leads with his plus-10 rating. When it comes to time on ice, only New York Islanders’ defenseman Matthew Schaefer averages more minutes (21:56) than Nikishin (19:47).
Over the last four games, Nikishin has played 22:29, 27:33 (career high versus the Vegas Golden Knights), 20:28, and 24:41 (led both Hurricanes and Boston Bruins). Outside of the game versus the Colorado Colorado Avalanche, where he played 14:42, he’s been playing more than 20 minutes since the game against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 18. In six of the 11 games so far this season, Nikishin has played 20-plus minutes and has gotten more over the last four. Coaches Rod Brind’Amour and Tim Gleason have been putting more faith into him and it’s paying off.
The Hurricanes are without Jaccob Slavin (since Oct. 11), K’Andre Miller (since Oct. 23), and Shayne Gostisbehere (twice), and have had to deploy the eighth, ninth, and 10th defensemen on the depth chart. They’ve been relying on Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield to lead the way, but Nikishin has risen to be someone the Hurricanes can lean on game after game. His second goal of the season came in the’ 2-1 loss to the Bruins on Nov. 1, but it was a big one as he had four shots and six hits.
When it comes to hits for rookies, Nikishin’s 34 only trails the Chicago Blackhawks’ Colton Dach’s 48. Even with his great start, FanDuel still only has Nikishin at a +3000 to win the Calder Trophy. Schaefer (+120) and Ivan Demidov (+190) are the only players with under +1000 odds to win. Nikishin has done a ton for the Hurricanes, and it’s not talked about enough outside of Raleigh.
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Nikishin is tied for eighth in points (six) and eighth in points per game (.55) amongst all rookies who’ve played over eight games. Should he be in more Calder conversations? Yes. Nikishin has been impactful on and off the scoresheet while stepping up in a big way with three blue-line regulars out for long periods of time to start the season. Who knows where the Hurricanes are without him on the blue line alongside Chatfield and Walker? To have a 24-year-old rookie step up like that, in his first season in North America, needs to be discussed more.
There are still 71 games left in the season, and anything can happen between now and April. However, with the start Nikishin has had to begin 2025-26, there are reasons to talk about his contributions early on. If he can keep this production up and take strides in his overall game, expect talks of him being a Rookie of the Year dark horse to heat up. Nikishin showed why he is considered the best defenseman ever in the Kontinental Hockey League; now, he’s proving that hockey skill translates no matter where someone plays.
