Hurricanes Prospect Report: Nikishin, Mercuri & More

Bringing Nikishin into a group that’s currently firing on all cylinders is a massive addition. He’s the type of physical specimen the Hurricanes have coveted for years — his nickname is literally “Boom” — which derives from the impact that his physicality leaves on the ice. He is a wrecker in open ice. If he’s not separating attackers from the puck with his body, he’s doing it with strong positional awareness and an active stick. He’s also an exceptional offensive threat — he’s scored 17 goals in each of the past two KHL seasons — and has 102 points combined over 128 games. He had yet another standout season for SKA. He can do it all, and he’s considered to be one of the best players outside of the NHL right now for good reason.

The question that the arrival of Nikishin poses is — how do you get him into the lineup? The Hurricanes have run a pretty consistent six-man rotation for much of the season — with Scott Morrow and Riley Stillman really only making relief appearances due to injury. Considering their depth at forward, it doesn’t make any sense to play 11-7 — so where does Nikishin fit? Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield are non-options to be scratched. The team’s third-pairing consists of Shayne Gostisbehere, who runs the PP1 unit, and Sean Walker, who has arguably been the team’s unsung hero on the defensive side — both are very valuable. That leaves Dmitry Orlov who, when on his game, is a very effective player to have, and Brent Burns.

To me, Burns seems like the obvious choice to make way, but it seems hard to envision the Canes scratching a near 1,500-game veteran player in the playoffs when he’ll likely play all 82 games this season. Objectively, this is a great problem to have, and it’ll be very interesting to see how this situation plays out.

Lucas Mercuri

Traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick this past week, the Hurricanes recouped the same asset they used when they selected Lucas Mercuri in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Draft. I provided an update on the player in one of these prospect reports a couple of months ago, and at that point I was unsure if the Canes would opt to sign him to an entry-level contract. He made the decision easy — by informing the team he would not be signing regardless and requesting a trade elsewhere. So that was that.

In all honesty, I don’t consider this to be a huge loss for the organization. While Mercuri does possess some of the tools you look for in an NHL prospect, he’s still pretty raw at the age of 23. He’s not a great skater, nor does he create a ton of offense — which limits his overall upside. He’s got nice size at 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, and he’s a much-coveted right-shot center, but he would have been behind players like Justin Robidas, Ryan Suzuki and potentially Felix Unger-Sorum (who can play center) on the organizational depth chart. I can’t really envision any scenario where his development accelerates to the point that he would’ve surpassed any of those guys in front of him, so this trade is really beneficial for both parties.

Making The Jump?

Stanislav Yarovoy

21-year-old winger Stanislav Yarovoy, who the Hurricanes selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, is a candidate to make the jump to North American hockey. He recently wrapped up his season with Podolsk Vityaz of the KHL, where he contributed nine goals (matching his career-high) and 12 points in 49 games, playing up-and-down their lineup in a variety of roles. He’s got some spark in his game and he started to kill penalties for his club on a regular basis this season. He also possesses very high-level puck skills. With his KHL contract now expired, I’m optimistic that he’ll sign an entry-level deal with the Hurricanes over the coming weeks and make the transition to the AHL to continue his development next fall.

Joel Nystrom

I fully expect defenseman Joel Nystrom to join the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on a full-time basis this summer, as he signed his entry-level deal with the Hurricanes last spring. He could even join the team for their playoff run this spring. He set a career-high with 27 points in 51 games for Farjestad of the Swedish league, while providing a steady two-way presence in a top-four role for the club. Nystrom, now 22, is a strong skater and is smart and calm with the puck. He has legitimate upside as a bottom-pair NHL defender, and he’s ready to make the full-time jump to North America.

As always, the important thing to remember with prospects is that development is non-linear. Some players take longer to figure it out than others, and some players never do. Wisely, the Hurricanes’ philosophy over the past few drafts has been to trade back and add more picks, therefore adding more players to their system, which has helped this prospect group grow into one of the deepest in the NHL.