Nikolishin began his professional career with
HC Dynamo Moscow. He played for four years domestically in Russia and was named Russian player of the Year in the 1993–94 season. During this time Andrei also captured a gold medal with the
CIS in the
1992 World Junior Championships and represented Russia in the
1993 World Championships,
1994 Winter Olympics and the
1994 World Championships. Nikolishin was drafted in the second round of the
1992 NHL Entry Draft, picked 47th by the
Hartford Whalers. He made his NHL debut in the delayed
1994–95 season with the Whalers and following with 51 points in the
1995-96 season. After representing Russia in the
1996 World Cup, Nikolishin started the
1996-97 season with the Whalers but was shortly traded to the
Washington Capitals for
Curtis Leschyshyn on November 9, 1996. In the following
1997-98 campaign, Nikolishin established himself as an important checking and special teams player, recording 13 assists in the playoffs helping the Capitals reach the
Stanley Cup finals before falling to champions the
Detroit Red Wings. After a brief holdout prior to the
1998–99 season, Nikolishin was a main-stay on the checking line for the Capitals over the next four seasons. After representing Russia in the
2002 Winter Olympics, Nikolishin was traded from the Capitals, along with
Chris Simon, to the
Chicago Blackhawks for
Michael Nylander and a
2003 third round pick (Steve Werner) on November 1, 2002. Nikolishin played just one season with the Blackhawks before he was again dealt on June 21, 2003, to the Colorado Avalanche prior to the
2003–04 season, his last in the NHL. Due to the 2004
NHL Lockout, Andrei returned to Russia and signed with
HC CSKA Moscow on June 4, 2004. He has since played with
Lada Togliatti,
Avangard Omsk and
SKA St. Petersburg. On November 5, 2007, Nikolishin was signed by
Traktor Chelyabinsk and remained with the team as captain when Traktor joined the newly formed
KHL in the
2008–09 season. ==Personal==