The KHL regular season came to a close Wednesday setting the stage for the 2023-24 playoffs which kicked off today.
The Hurricanes currently have seven prospects on five teams that qualified for the postseason, so here's an overview of which Canes will be competing for the Gagarin Cup:
Alexander Nikishin - (2W) SKA St. Petersburg
23, D - 17G, 56P, 67 GP (24:15)
2020 Third-Round (69)
Alexander Nikishin could quite possibly be the best hockey player not currently in the NHL.
His 17 goals and 56 points led all defensemen for each category this season, which also meant that he broke his own record for points by a Russian-born defenseman.
He also became the first defenseman in KHL history to have two 50+ point seasons and he did it in back-to-back years.
Nikishin will look to captain SKA to their first Gagarin Cup since 2017.
Alexander Pashin - (4W) Spartak Moscow
21, F - 10G, 19P, 60 GP (13:47)
2020 Seventh-Round (199)
With the Hurricanes not having an AHL affiliate this year, Alexander Pashin was loaned back to the KHL where he's been a steady depth player for Spartak this year.
Despite his small frame, the Pashin has managed to find the scoresheet at a steady pace.
Timur Mukhanov - (5W) Severstal Cherepovets
18, F - 5G, 14P, 60 GP (10:13)
2023 Sixth-Round (163)
Timur Mukhanov made the jump to the KHL for the first time this season. He started out with limited minutes but had seen a steady climb in playing time as he continued to get more game action in the new year.
He's currently out with an injury.
Vladimir Grudinin - (5W) Severstal Cherepovets
20, D - 2G, 10P, 60 GP (18:03)
2022 Fifth-Round (156)
After starting the season with CSKA Moscow where he hardly played, Vladimir Grudinin got traded to Severstal where he's been a consistent, second-pair defenseman.
Nikita Guslistov - (5W) Severstal Cherepovets
21, F - 0g, 1P, 26 GP (7:12)
2021 Seventh-Round (209)
Nikita Guslistov hadn't gotten much ice time this season at the KHL level, but after getting sent down to Buran Voronezh in the VHL at the start of February, he picked up two goals and four points in six games to close out the regular season and then two more assists in two playoff games.
Guslistov has since gotten the callup back to the KHL and has started the playoffs playing on the fourth line.
Alexander Rykov - (6E) Traktor Chelyabinsk
18, F - 6G, 8P, 29 GP (7:38)
2023 Fourth-Round (100)
Alexander Rykov made the jump from a dominant VHL scorer to having some solid deployment on a KHL roster this season.
While his playing time has been inconsistent from game to game, he's made the most of it and has still been able to show off his high-end shot and hockey IQ.
Kirill Slepets - (8E) Amur Khabarovsk
24, F - 8G, 19P, 53 GP (12:28)
2019 Fifth-Round (152)
Technically, the Hurricanes still retain the rights to Kirill Slepets, which I didn't realize.
After playing less than 20 games in the KHL in each of his last two seasons, Slepets became a mainstay with Amur this year and provided some nice depth scoring.