It's looking like the Carolina Hurricanes are not going to be giving rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin power play time, at least not to start the year.
The Russian blueliner, who was getting power play reps at the start of training camp and even led the team in power play ice time throughout the preseason (14:21, with one goal scored), has, as of late, been pushed off the PP entirely in the team's most recent practices
While I know some fans will be up in arms over this decision, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing though as the 24-year-old rookie is still a fresh face with a lot to learn.
The Canes are expecting Nikishin to be a big piece of the blueline for years to come, but that means first getting him confident in every situation, starting with 5v5.
"It's a lot to throw at someone," Brind'Amour said about the team's ongoing work with Nikishin. "We don't necessarily want him to be worrying about power play, penalty kill and all the stuff that goes on at 5v5, so it might be beneficial to ease him into it a little bit."
The coaching staff is just worried about putting too much on the rookie's plate all at once. They want him to be able to play free without a million thoughts racing through his mind when he's on the ice.
"We certainly don't want to bog him down with too much information," Brind'Amour said.
Nikishin already has his work cut out for him in terms of learning Carolina's systems, learning English and everything else that goes with being a first-time NHLer. The team just thinks it's better to start him off a bit slow before throwing him all the way into the deep end.
"You're throwing him into a system that takes time," Brind'Amour said. "It's tough. You can see it in his game. Hopefully he'll get to a point where it just becomes natural and he's not out there trying to think his way through it. But time will basically take care of that."
The Hurricanes also don't have to rush Nikishin right away because the team has experienced NHLers who either are familiar with the Canes' systems or at the very least have ample NHL experience.
As it sits right now, Carolina looks ready to utilize Shayne Gostisbehere on the top unit and K'Andre Miller and Sean Walker on the second.
"We have guys who know how to run it, do all the breakouts and all the subtleties of it maybe more efficiently because [Nikishin] doesn't quite understand them all yet," Brind'Amour said.
And while Nikishin was certainly a capable power play quarterback during his time in the KHL, the NHL is a whole different story.
But that's not to say the Russian blueliner won't manage to find his way onto the man advantage at some point in the year though.
If Nikishin gets a bit more comfortable on the ice or if the Canes have some early power play struggles, I'm certain his opportunity will come knocking.
"You've gotta earn it," Brind'Amour said when asked about potential power play deployment. "You can't just throw it to him, but if he earns it, he'll be out there."
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