Hurricanes Sign Top KHL Defenseman Alexander Nikishin to Two-Year Deal

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Alexander Nikishin to a two-year, entry-level contract, General Manager Eric Tulsky announced today.

The contract, which will pay Nikishin $832,500 for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, includes a signing bonus of $185,000.

“We are grateful for Alexander’s time with SKA, a premier European hockey franchise, which helped him develop into one of the top prospects in hockey,” Tulsky said. “His size and skill have allowed him to have a record-breaking career in the KHL, and we believe he will be an impactful player in the NHL.”

Nikishin, 23, completed a successful season as captain of SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, where he scored 17 goals and added 29 assists for a total of 46 points in 61 regular-season games. His impressive performance ranked him second among KHL defensemen in goals and game-winning goals, and third in overall points.

In the postseason, Nikishin played in four games, scoring two goals and adding an assist for three points. Over his four-year career in the KHL, he has emerged as SKA St. Petersburg’s all-time leading scoring defenseman, accumulating 177 points (54 goals, 123 assists) and 166 penalty minutes in 288 regular-season games.

Nikishin also made his mark in the playoffs, contributing 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) in 35 career playoff games. Notably, he set a record for single-season scoring among Russian-born KHL defensemen, first achieving 55 points (11 goals, 44 assists) in the 2022-23 season, only to surpass it the following year with 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) in 67 games.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound defenseman has been recognized for his skills, being named KHL Defenseman of the Month seven times over the past three seasons. Nikishin was drafted by the Hurricanes in the third round, 69th overall, during the 2020 NHL Draft and represented Russia as the youngest player at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he earned a silver medal.