Flames Acquire Nikita Okhotiuk from San Jose Sharks – Full Scouting Report

Almost an hour had passed from the 1:00 p.m. MST NHL Trade Deadline for the first Flames trade of the day to be announced.

The deal? General manager Craig Conroy had acquired rugged defenceman Nikita Okhotiuk in exchange for a conditional 2024 fifth round draft pick.

San Jose will get the better of the two 2024 fifth-round picks that the Chicago Blackhawks own. The conditions are due to the fifth being acquired conditionally from Vancouver in the Nikita Zadorov trade.

So, who is Okhotiuk, and what can he provide on the ice?

First of all: Oh-Ho-Chuk

A 23 year old left-shot defenceman, the former Ottawa 67 plays a rugged style. If you were to describe his game in one word, “physical” would be a good choice.

“I’m just defending the goalie,” Okhotiuk told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now in September. “I don’t like when they get scored on. Try to play physical as much as I can. Not just running around and being stupid, but if I have a chance, I’ll hit. I don’t like to play dirty. A more defensive D.”

Coach Quinn’s Comments

Sharks head coach David Quinn elaborated on the other aspects of his game during the preseason. Per Peng:

“The physical side of his game, everybody told me about,” head coach David Quinn shared. “I’d never seen him play, but I’ve liked his skill level [at camp]. He’s made some good plays. He’s jumped in the rush at the right time. He scored a great goal. There’s been other things that I hadn’t heard about from his game. Now the key is does that transfer to the games?”

It’s been a long season for Okhotiuk and the Sharks. Averaging 16:26 per night in his first full season (he had played 15 NHL games between the two previous seasons) has led to an ugly -22 goal differential at even strength over 48 games. The Russian defender has a goal and seven assists over that time.

“We’ve spent a short period of time with him, so I think we’re still trying to figure out what his ceiling is,” Quinn told Colby Guy of FHN in early December. “But this guy is a National Hockey League player. He can pass the puck, he’s coachable, he’s a great teammate, there’s a lot of things I like about him. Eventually, it’s all gonna come together, and you see stretches of it. Now, we just need it to be a little more consistent.”

It is likely that a contract extension will soon follow for the 6-foot-1 blueliner. Nikita is finishing out the final season of a three year deal signed with the New Jersey Devils worth $789,167 per season. Okhotiuk has RFA status as of July 1, 2024.

Okhotiuk was traded to San Jose by New Jersey with Fabian Zetterlund, Andreas Johnsson, Shakir Mukhmadullin, a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, a conditional 2nd-round pick in 2024 and a 7th-round pick in 2024 for Timo Meier, Timur Ibragimov, Scott Harrington, Santeri Hatakka, Zachary Emond and a 5th-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, February 26, 2023.

Scouting Report – Nikita Okhotiuk

Skating

Okhotiuk brings solid edgework for his age. While the 23 year old has room to improve in terms of top speed and his first three strides, the 198-pound defenceman is starting to scratch the surface in terms of keeping up with NHL-level skaters. Work in progress.

Physicality

You’ll find plenty of footage of Okhotiuk’s willingness to get messy.

Big hits, big fights.

The recurring theme you may notice is that his instances of violence occur in front of the net. The Flames have been in need of a player willing to push back when opposing forwards begin causing trouble in front of Jacob Markstrom or Daniel Vladar.

Instincts

Don’t expect the term elite playmaker to be thrown around too much with Okhotiuk, but the former second round pick shares a characteristic with former Flames defenceman Chris Tanev in that he’s not afraid to take a hit to make a play. Similar to Brayden Pachal, Nikita will, from time to time, find himself overextended after making a hit.

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(AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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