Ilya Nikolaev won’t be playing pro hockey this season.
After a fairly up-and-down season back in Russia, Nikolaev will be spending 2021-22 adapting to North American hockey with the junior Tri-City Storm of the USHL. He got his first taste of North American hockey on Monday night in a rookie game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Flames’ third round pick in 2019 – selected after Jakob Pelletier – Nikolaev was regarded as a smart, two-way player in his draft year who projected to be a 200-foot forward in the same mould as a Michael Frolik type. He was a fixture on Russia’s national team throughout his teens due to his smarts and versatility.