Nikolishin to Play for Russia at U-18 Worlds
EVERETT – Everett Silvertips forward Ivan Nikolishin played for Team Russia at the 2014 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. This year’s tournament, which brought together the world’s top 1996-born players in Lappeenranta and Imatra, Finland, resulted in Team USA winning its fifth Gold Medal in the last six years.
Team Russia won three of four games in the preliminary round, tying with Sweden for second place behind Canada in Group A. Russia opened the tournament with a 3-2 overtime victory over Slovakia and then rallied from a 3-0 deficit against Sweden before falling 4-3 in a shootout. Nikolishin had three points to help lead the Russians to a 5-2 win over Germany and also scored a goal as they handed defending Gold Medalist Canada its only loss of round-robin play in a 3-2 shootout decision. Team Russia was then eliminated after a 3-2 overtime loss to the eventual Silver Medalist Czech Republic in the quarterfinal round. Nikolishin tied for fourth on the team in scoring with five points (2g/3a) in five games.
Nikolishin, who turned 18 on April 12, enjoyed a fantastic rookie season for the Silvertips, finishing second on the team and among all WHL rookies in scoring with 59 points on 18 goals and 41 assists. His 33 powerplay points (9g/24a) led all first-year WHL players, while his 18 goals tied for fifth. He was one of only two Everett players to dress for all 72 regular season games and five playoff contests. Hailing from Moscow, Nikolishin was selected by Everett in the second round of the 2013 CHL Import Draft.
Silvertips defenseman Noah Juulsen was on Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the event, but was unable to attend selection camp due to injury. Other players with Silvertip ties in the 2014 Under-18 World Championship included prospect and 2012 Bantam Draft pick Auston Matthews, who tied for the team lead with five goals for Team USA, and former Import Draft selection Waltteri Hopponen with Team Finland.
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Visit everettsilvertips.com throughout the offseason for news and updates on the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, our “Select-a-Seat” event, team appearances, the WHL schedule release and much more. For more information, call the team office at 425-252-5100, “like” the Everett Silvertips Hockey Club on Facebook or follow @WHLSilvertips on Twitter.
