The Carolina Hurricanes have been hit hard by the injury bug as of late, with the team currently missing six of their lineup regulars.

With those absences, the team had to make a plethora of callups, with five rookies in total suiting up for the Hurricanes over the span of their six-game road trip.

So how did those five fare?

Alexander Nikishin

The only rookie who was expected to be a major part of the Hurricanes' lineup this year, Nikishin has been forced into more responsibility with the loss of every other left-handed blueline regular.

The Russian defenseman has played north of 20 minutes in three of the last four games, with a career high 22:29 in Saturday's 3-2 loss in Dallas.

In his eight regular season appearances, Nikishin has a goal and four points and has only been a minus in a single game (4-1 loss in Vegas).

He's been a stable and physical presence out there (12 blocks, 21 hits) and he's outscored opponents 11-4 when he's been out on the ice at 5v5.

Nikishin has also not been out on the ice for a goal against shorthanded yet, with nearly 10 minutes of PK time so far this season.

He's yet to get a shot on the power play, but with Carolina currently rocking the league's worst man advantage, I don't see why they don't just give him a shot.

Alexander Nikishin Scores First Career NHL Goal Rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin nets his first NHL goal, a thrilling moment in his young career.

Brandon Bussi

With a last minute injury to Pyotr Kochetkov before the opening of the season and the loss of Cayden Primeau to waivers, the Hurricanes were in quite the pickle in net.

They had claimed Bussi on waivers at the same time they placed Primeau on them, but he had never even appeared in an NHL game before.

But the 27-year-old netminder was a player the team had been keeping an eye on and they were confident that he was ready for the opportunity.

And so far, Bussi has been proving them right.

The American netminder has made three appearances for Carolina so far, posting a 2-1-0 record and a 0.911 save percentage.

The 6-foot-4 netminder has looked really solid in net, using his size and athleticism well to cover the net and adapt to the changing environments in front.

He's been able to change the complexion of the games he's played in and without a few own-goals against on Saturday, he might still have been perfect to start the year.

Brandon Bussi Leads Hurricanes To Victory In NHL Debut While the final score might not indicate it, Brandon Bussi played a big role in the Carolina Hurricanes' 5-1 win Tuesday night, with the goaltender standing on his head in his NHL debut.

Charles Alexis Legault

Legault was the final cut in training camp this year and was subsequently the first callup as well when the team hit the road with just a single blueline injury.

But when Shayne Gostisbehere went out, Legault slid into the lineup, making his NHL debut against the Vegas Golden Knights.

In three games, Legault has averaged 11:53 of ice time and has had four blocks, two hits and four shots on goal.

While he was playing sheltered minutes, he still did well in his time, with a 41-24 edge in chances and 1-0 edge in goals scored at 5v5.

He has since been reassigned to the AHL and Domenick Fensore has been recalled in his place.

Joel Nystrom

Perhaps the callup that nobody saw coming, Nystrom made his NHL debut against the Colorado Avalanche after K'Andre Miller was a last second scratch due to a lower-body concern.

The Swedish defenseman had appeared in just seven games in North America before his callup, but it was apparent during the preseason how well his game looked to be translating.

In two games, Nystrom has averaged 17 minutes of ice time and has three shots, a hit and a block in that span.

He's been thrown into some tough minutes against some really good competition and as a result, he's been heavily outchanced in his short time in the NHL (40.35 CF%, 27.23 xGF%).

However, it's clear that he's still managed to earn a bit more trust from the coaching staff due to his positioning, skating and defensive awareness.

Perhaps there's a diamond in the rough here if he's given a bit more time to polish up his game.

Bradly Nadeau

Nadeau was one of the best Hurricanes throughout the preseason, but there was just no room for him on the roster.

However, with injuries to William Carrier and Eric Robinson, that spot all of a sudden opened up for the young sniper.

Nadeau hasn't had too much of a chance to play yet this year, with only 12:39 of ice time in his one appearance, however, he's still getting prime opportunities as he was slotted into the team's top power play unit and was deployed during the late 6-on-5 too.

It's clear that Nadeau has a tremendous shot, which he nearly scored on in the first period on Saturday, rifling a shot past Jake Oettinger but not the goal post, and given more time to adapt to NHL speed, we'll probably be seeing it in full effect pretty soon.

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