After shattering franchise records and dominating the physical game, Alexander Nikishin’s powerhouse debut season earns him a spot among the league's elite young stars.
The NHL released the results for the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin was one of the six players named to the team.
Nikishin, 24, had a record season with Carolina, registering the most goals by a rookie blueliner in franchise history (11) as well as the second most points (33).
He found a steady spot on the team alongside veteran Shayne Gostisbehere and even earned his way onto the team's second power play unit.
With the Hurricanes, Nikishin had the second most goals and third most points among blueliners, as well as the second most hits (132) and blocks (94).
The KHL standout certainly had a big learning curve in his first full North American season, but he was still quite impressive, even finishing seventh in Calder Trophy voting.
Nikishin appeared on 184 of the 195 total ballots submitted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
The full All-Rookie team consists of:
- Ivan Demidov (MTL)
- Beckett Sennecke (ANA)
- Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)
- Matthew Schaefer (NYI)
- Alexander Nikishin (CAR)
- Jakub Dobes (MTL)
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