Eric Nesterenko
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eric Paul Nesterenko (October 31, 1933 – June 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
centre who played in the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) for the
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
from 1951 until 1956 and for the
Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
from 1956 until 1972.


Early life

Nesterenko was born in Flin Flon,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, to immigrants from
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. He moved at 16 and attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute. Nesterenko would play as a member of the Toronto Marlboros.


Playing career

Nesterenko played five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Blackhawks for cash. He played 16 years with the Blackhawks from 1956 to 1972 for a total of 1,013 games which ranks seventh in team history. Nesterenko was known as a superb penalty killer and was given the nickname of “Elbows". In both 1965 and 1967, he led the league in shorthanded goals. Nesterenko was an NHL All-Star in 1961 and 1965, and was a key part of 1961 Stanley Cup championship. He also made 12 other playoff appearances with the Blackhawks. Nesterenko was better known for speed on the ice than for goal-scoring.
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
columnist Bob Markus commented, "I've always thought that Nesterenko would have been the greatest player of all time if they played the game without a puck." Nesterenko had 495 points (207 goals along with 288 assists) and 1,014 penalty minutes while playing for the Blackhawks. He had a total of 250 goals and 324 assists during his NHL career. Following his NHL career, Nesterenko played for the Chicago Cougars of the
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
in 1973-74 after a year of coaching in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.


Controversy

During one game in 1961, Nesterenko infamously attacked Willie O'Ree, the first Black player in the NHL, with racial slurs and butt-ended O'Ree with his hockey stick, breaking O'Ree's nose and knocking out his front teeth. O'Ree retaliated with his stick and Nesterenko required 15 stitches in his head. During the next game that Nesterenko and O'Ree played, Nesterenko slashed O'Ree's ankles. Nesterenko never apologized to O'Ree, despite having an opportunity 30 years later when they met at an all-star game. O'Ree later named Nesterenko and described the incidents in his autobiography.


Personal life

In 1986, Nesterenko played the father of character Dean Youngblood ( Rob Lowe) in the movie '' Youngblood'', and was also the film's hockey consultant. He has worked as a disk jockey, a
stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...
, a travel broker, a
freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
, a university
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
, and a ski instructor. Near the end of Nesterenko's NHL career, he was interviewed for Studs Terkel's bestselling book, '' Working: What People do all Day and How They Feel About What They Do''. Eric Nesterenko spent his later life in Colorado and died on June 4, 2022, at the age of 88.


Awards and achievements

* WHL championship (1956) * Edinburgh Trophy championship (1956) *
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
championship ( 1961) * Played in NHL All-Star Game ( 1961 and
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
) * Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


See also

* List of NHL players with 1,000 games played


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesterenko, Eric 1933 births 2022 deaths Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian stockbrokers Chicago Blackhawks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Chicago Cougars players Ice hockey people from Flin Flon Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players Western International Hockey League players Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen