The Nikishin Deal: 1-on-1 with Eric Tulsky

RALEIGH, N.C. - The day has finally arrived. Alexander Nikishin is a Carolina Hurricane.

Agreeing to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract on Friday, the 2020 third-round pick of the organization has been widely considered one of the best players outside of the NHL.

That's about to change, though, as the process of getting him to North America and into the team's lineup is underway.

This morning, we sat down with General Manager Eric Tulsky to learn more about the situation.

How did the process of this contract all come together?

"We've known his contract was expiring, and we have been talking to his agent about what he would do at the end of the contract.

He wanted to come here. We wanted to get him here. We needed the cooperation of SKA to release him from his contract and they know he's ready to make this jump. We're happy to do that for him.

We had to get a contract done, and now that we've reached an agreement, we're working on getting him here."

What is the immediate plan for him?

"We need to get a U.S. visa so he can come over. That is in process and should be done very soon. We hope to have good news today, so we could complete the process on Monday or Tuesday and bring him to the U.S.

We are also trying to get him a Canadian visa, so that he would be eligible to play in our road games at the end of our season. We want to make sure he gets into at least one game in North America before we get to the playoffs, so he has a chance to play in our system.

We would love for that to be in the NHL, but if the visa timing makes that hard, he may play a game with Chicago (AHL) for us. We're playing it by ear, trying to figure out the best way to make this work."

What has it been like watching him from afar, and how does your staff track and assist with his development while he was in the KHL?

"Watching him, you can see the talent very clearly. He's a fantastic player who has been great for his team. Our development staff watches him - and all of our prospects - closely. They provide them with input, provide them with video review, and do everything they can to help players understand what they need to do to get to their full potential. They provide the support they need to help them do that."

How important was SKA in the process of allowing him to come over?

"SKA has helped him a lot. Roman Rotenberg is a strong coach who works hard to develop his players. He could see early on that this was someone who had NHL talent and helped him get ready to come over to the NHL. He knew that was the next step for the player and he was happy to provide a release and cooperate in getting him here.

Alexander has been great for them and has brought SKA a lot of success. They will be rooting for him to continue that success."

What are some of the strong suits of Alexander's game?

"He sees the ice well and has a good shot. He's provided a lot of offense for SKA. What I think is going to serve him particularly well in this transition is that he skates very well and has the ability to gap up and close out, which is important for our players. Not everybody in the KHL has that and it will make the transition easier for him than it otherwise would have been.

He's also 6-foot-4 and physical. He's one of the most ferocious hitters in that league and so that is an element that will be helpful to have in our lineup."

Several people have mentioned that he will fit in right away here with the Canes. Do you see it that way as well?

"It is a big jump from any other league to the NHL, and our team, in particular, plays a very fast brand of hockey that makes it just a little bit harder.

I want to be cautious about saying immediately, because it may take him one practice, it may take him six months, but I think he is a natural fit who will play his best and look his best playing for us. It's just a question of how quickly he can pick up what he needs to [in order] to play at our speed."

As we reach the conclusion of this process, how relieved are you?

"I would say I'm more excited than relieved. I'm looking forward to seeing Alexander on the ice and now pivoting to the next thing on my plate. The efforts to keep making this team better and finding ways to push us forward never stop."

You always talk about letting Rod determine the lineup, but you've now got capable eight defensemen on the blue line. How do you see that situation working out?

"We will see how it goes when he starts playing with our team."