Ilya Nikulin was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the second round, 31st overall, at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

He stands at 6 foot 3 and 213 lbs, and he’s got a strong sense of defensive responsibility. When he was selected by the Thrashers, he was considered one of the top five European prospects in his draft class — coming in fifth overall among European skaters and first among European defenseman leading up to the draft.

He’s also shown to have plenty of scoring upside, though, and has developed into a lethal power play contributor — which might be why the now 33 year old blue liner is reportedly coming to the NHL next season.

In an interview conducted by Dmitry Ponamarenko of Russian sports blog Sovsport.ru, Russian Olympic coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov suggested that sources had confirmed Nikulin would join fellow veteran defenseman Yevgeni Medvedev in North America next season. Medvedev has inked a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers already, but Bilyaletdinov suggested that Nikulin has a deal he’s working on — it’s just a matter of getting everything in place and signing the contract.

With two seasons as captain of the Russian World Championship team, two appearances on the Olympic roster, and 218 points over a 363 game KHL career, it’s surprising to see the former second round draft pick linked to rumors of a North American stint; he’ll be joining the NHL, should Bilyaletdinov’s assertions prove to be true, a full fifteen years after he was first drafted by the Thrashers. Some of the draft class’ stars are still thriving in the NHL — Marian Gaborik doesn’t show signs of slowing down, nor does Justin Williams or Henrik Lundqvist — but Dany Heatley is in the AHL, Ilya Bryzgalov has retired, and a handful of other names (Antoine Vermette, Scott Hartnell, and Niklas Kronwall) are all being watched for regression. If Nikulin wanted to make an NHL appearance, now seems like a strange time.

Then again, it may not just be the hope of a ‘break-out year’ that could drive Nikulin to head across the pond.

Three seasons with a letter on his jersey for Ak-Bars Kazan and a handful of captaincies for the Russian National Team make it clear that Nikulin is a highly respected player for Team Russia. His best friend is Alexander Ovechkin, and he’s been a diplomatic skater for his team and his country — with Ak-Bars getting younger this year, he may want to try his hand at North American hockey before bowing out of the game in order to give Ak-Bars relief from having to cut him loose on their end. There could also be the hope that he assumes a coaching position for Russia’s International Team, which would mean that play in North America could benefit him greatly; an understanding of how the NHL game is played and developed from an on-ice perspective could make him a better coach down the line, particularly with so many Russian stars heading to the NHL nowadays.

He still plays well, although overly heavy minutes can see him wear down late in the game — something that shouldn’t be an issue if an NHL team puts him in a lower-pairing role, but still something to consider. He’s effective on the power play, as mentioned earlier — but his calling card was initially as a shut-down player, and he’s still valuable both at even strength and on the penalty kill. Despite his age, there’s still plenty of value in signing a skater with his skill sets.

Then again, the final consideration could be that the dying ruble and trouble with player salaries in the KHL is scaring an established skater and young father — and if that’s the case, then it’s yet another example of why the KHL needs restructuring, and fast.