A lot was said last year about how the language barrier for Alexander Nikishin was one of the biggest things holding him back.
It was what made the Carolina Hurricanes' coaching staff hesitant about playing him in the postseason and now heading into his first full season in the NHL, it's something that the team is still struggling to overcome.
"He's better, for sure," Brind'Amour said about the Russian blueliner's progress. "In a perfect world, this wouldn't be an issue, but it is. You can't hide from it. The communication that happens in a game and in a teaching environment, it's so vital. To sit there and think they know what you're talking about when they don't understand the language is hard. It is an issue. I think he's way better now, but we'll see how much he's actually retaining when we get playing."
Rookie Blueliner Alexander Nikishin Already Playing Vital Role For Carolina Hurricanes
Alexander Nikishin is going to be a special player.
Nikishin, 23, has been in North America now for only a handful of months. He made his way to the United States after obtaining a visa in April, but only managed to get in a few games in June and by then, the season was over.
Now, it's September and so there really hasn't been a ton of time for the rookie defenseman to get as up to speed as many would hope.
Because it isn't like the team can really work with him much over the summer either due to CBA restrictions on direct team-to-player access. Team's can send videos to players, but staff can't be there to go over stuff with them, and without that extra layer of support, it just really isn't worth it.
"You don't really want to [send video over the summer] much unless you have your guys there explaining it," Brind'Amour said. "I find that if you're not the guy or your staff being able to be one-on-one to explain something, especially with the language issue, you're running the risk of not explaining it properly. A lot of one-on-ones now to get him going."
Nikishin did however work with an English tutor over the summer and you can really tell how much progress he's made in that regard. But when it comes to in-depth teaching, it's still a work in progress.
"He did a heck of a job and is way better in three months, but to me, we're still probably a year or two away from really seeing what this kid can do just because I think he's getting by on just pure talent at this point," Brind'Amour said. "It's hard enough to play, but now if you don't really quite know... what makes good teams good is that they can communicate."
Brind'Amour said that while there has been plenty of time in training camp and practices to go over stuff and have one-on-ones with Nikishin, the difficulty ramps up when game time rolls around.
"When you have a practice, you can stop it or slow it down and after practice you can go, 'Hey...,' Brind'Amour said. "But on the bench... every shift, when you come to the bench, there's reminders. Like, 'Hey, remember, you have to go here and there.' or 'Your gap was wrong,' or 'Your route was wrong,' but what does that mean if you don't understand what I'm saying.
"In a game, when we're doing a faceoff play, details matter and you don't really have time. There's a lot of things that are going on and then there's switches and they happen in real time, so you're on the ice with a D partner and you line up and you know they're coming over the top with the shooter and you call a switch and if you don't quite understand what's happening, that can be the difference in a game."
But the coaching staff isn't about to shy away from playing the Russian defender either, because his talent is so evident.
The 6-foot-4 defenseman is the full package, bringing a two-way game with strong skating, a physical presence and with a heck of a shot too.
The organization knows he can play, it's just about adding in the polish.
"Where we're at now is a stage of just letting him go out there," Brind'Amour said. "He's gotta be able to play, first and foremost, and trust his instincts. You don't want to be sitting there in his ear after every shift when you know he's probably not getting it anyway. So living with the few mistakes that are going to happen and then try to get him after is really the way we're going to approach it."
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