- Nikita Alexandrov is expected to sign with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons
- The 2019 second-round pick has not played an NHL game since 2023-24
- Read below for his numbers and why a Group Six free agent left North America
Nikita Alexandrov is heading overseas.
The 25-year-old forward is expected to sign with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons, according to Mikhail Zislis of Sport-Express. Alexandrov became a Group Six unrestricted free agent last month, and nothing came together in North America in the weeks that followed.
St. Louis took him 62nd overall in 2019 off a strong run with Charlottetown in the QMJHL. He piled up 54 points in 42 games in his post-draft season and looked like a real bet to stick.
His NHL time came, just not much of it. Alexandrov played 51 games for the Blues across 2022-23 and 2023-24, scoring three goals and adding six assists. Here’s the first one, from January 2023:
Then the door shut. He cleared waivers in back-to-back training camps and spent the last two seasons entirely in the minors.
That is the frustrating part, because he was very good down there. Alexandrov put up 49 points in 48 games for Springfield in 2024-25 and never got the call.
Take a look at him picking apart Laval last November:
A midseason trade sent him to Los Angeles, and the new address did nothing for his NHL odds. He finished as the Ontario Reign’s assist leader with 40 and tied for the team lead in points with 56, per the club’s season recap. Still no NHL games.
Alexandrov does not qualify for AHL veteran status yet, so nothing was blocking a minor league deal here. This reads more like a player deciding that if the games are going to be in the minors anyway, they might as well be closer to home.
Home is a complicated word in his case. Alexandrov was born in Burgwedel, Germany, came up through Iserlohn’s youth system, played his junior hockey in Quebec and spent a COVID-shortened year in Finland. Assuming the contract gets finalized, this will be the first time he suits up in Russia.
Shanghai is a Chinese club in name only. The Dragons play their home games at SKA Arena in St. Petersburg, and they have been shopping in North America all summer, with former Sharks defenseman Calen Addison linked to the same team earlier this month.
