By Brian Murphy, WRAL

He may not speak much English, but the Carolina Hurricanes newest player knows the language of hockey.

That was the message Friday from coach Rod Brind’Amour when Alexander Nikishin arrived at Lenovo Center for his orientation.

The Canes signed big Russian, one of the top prospects in the NHL to a two-year contract, through the 2025-26 season.

Nikishin, 23, played wth SKA St. Petersburg in Russia this season. He scored 17 goals and had 29 assists (46 points) in 61 regular-season games. His team was recently eliminated from the KHL playoffs.

“He is the No. 1 prospect in the NHL,” said Adam Gold, host of Canes Corner on 99.9 The Fan. “He’s an element that the Hurricanes do not have. He is a big, fast, physical, two-way defenseman, who set scoring records in the KHL, which is the second-best hockey league in the world, and he plays with a mean streak. That’s fine. You don’t necessarily need it, but a lot of the best teams have it. So I mean, this is kind of a unicorn for the Hurricanes.”

The Canes begin their Stanley Cup run Sunday at home against the New Jersey Devils.

Carolina is making its seventh consecutive appearance in the playoffs under coach Rod Brind’Amour.

The Hurricanes are the No. 2 seed out of the Metropolitan Division, while New Jersey is the No. 3 seed. The winner will play the winner of top-seed Washington vs. Montreal, which earned a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Hurricanes and Devils split four games this season. The teams have met five times in the playoffs with the Hurricanes winning four series, including a 4-1 series win in the second round in 2023.

Source: wralsportsfan.com