Mediocre Expectations – Nikita Nikitin

The Oilers are embarking on a huge four game road trip that starts tomorrow night in Boston. They’ll do it without Oscar Klefbom, who broke a finger on Friday night. Andrew Ference was taken off the IR on Sunday, but it’s doubtful that he draws right back into the lineup, at least to this observer.

That would mean Nikita Nikitin, recalled from Bakersfield late last week, gets the nod to return to the NHL lineup. When Nikitin was signed, he was expected to be a top-four defender, but I think we all realized last season that those expectations where far too high. So, what can we expect from this player?

The Strengths:

Nikita Nikitin does some things well, despite what you have been told. He’s a big boy, and as a result he can play physical from time to time. That size has allowed him to be arguably Edmonton’s best defender when it comes to clearing the front of the net.

He’s also actually a decent penalty killer too. That’s important because Klefbom was a key part of that unit before his injury. Nikitin is also valuable on the power-play, although I’m not sure how much time he’ll actually get with the group. Nikitin has a cannon of a shot, something the Oilers are sorely missing when on the man advantage.

Maybe the biggest thing in Nikitin’s favor is his ability to move the puck. Nikitin has the ability to make a nice first pass and push the puck in the right direction. He’s not Kris Letang, not even close, but he can move the puck in a positive manner. That fits in with what Todd McLellan wants his defenders to do.

The Weaknesses:

The strengths of Nikitin are nice, but his weaknesses are quite apparent and certainly impact his value. Nikitin is quite slow, he’s often described as a lug. His speed issues often put him in a bad position and it usually costs the team a chance again.

Even worse than that, Nikitin isn’t exactly a sound defensive player. He’s often caught out of position and makes a number of bad reads that directly lead to chances against. Oh, and he’s known for at least two boneheaded turnovers per game.

Nikitin doesn’t have any consistency to his game. When he’s on, he can actually be a helpful part of the group, but when he’s off, boy is he ever off. He becomes a massive liability. Last season, far too often, we saw the Nikitin who was a liability. That’s how he ended up in the AHL following training camp this fall.

What To Expect:

The expectations for Nikitin are far less this time around. No one is expecting him to be a top-four defender, they are just hoping he isn’t the liability he was last season.

Personally, I’d expect Nikitin to be a third-pairing defender who sees a little time on each special teams unit. I think Todd McLellan is going to use Nikitin in a much smaller role, potentially like he is handling Eric Gryba currently.

I’d look to Nikitin getting controlled minutes and easier match-ups while providing Edmonton some average defensive play. He’s not going to come in and push the needle, he’s not good enough to do that, but he’s certainly got the talent to be a decent depth defender at the NHL level.