Nikita Nesterov
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Nikita Danilovich Nesterov (; born 28 March 1993) is a Russian 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 ...
defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...
for HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 148th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning of 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) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Nesterov has also previously played for the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
and
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
.


Playing career


Junior

Nesterov was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round, 148th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He was also drafted by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Traktor Chelyabinsk, who selected him in the first round, 22nd overall, of the 2010 KHL Junior Draft. He opted then to play two seasons with Chelyabinsk in the KHL. On April 30, 2013, Nesterov was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the NHL's Lightning.


Professional

On December 31, 2014, Tampa Bay recalled Nesterov from the Syracuse Crunch, the team's
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL) affiliate. He had played in 32 games with the Crunch during the 2014–15 season, recording three goals and 14 points with a +4 plus-minus rating and 26 penalty minutes. Before his call-up, Nesterov has played in 86 career AHL games, all with the Crunch over the past two seasons. He has seven goals and 30 points with 65 penalty minutes. On December 31, 2014, the same day of his call-up, Nesterov made his NHL debut in a 5–1 Lightning victory over the
Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
. He was a +1 and logged over 15 minutes of ice time during the game. On April 16, 2015, Nesterov played in his first career NHL playoff game recording his first playoff goal and point. On April 18, 2015, Nestrov recorded his first NHL playoff assist in a Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 win over the
Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
. On October 16, 2015, 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 ...
announced that it was suspending Nesterov for two games without pay for boarding Dallas Stars forward Curtis McKenzie. Nesterov was given a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for checking McKenzie from behind for the incident that led to his suspension. As a result of the suspension, Nesterov forfeited $7,983.88 in pay. On September 26, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Nesterov to a one-year contract worth $725,000. Nesterov appeared in 57 games the past season, recording three goals and nine points. He set career highs for games played, goals, assists, and points. He also appeared in nine 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff games, recording one assist and nine penalty minutes. Nesterov appeared in 84 career NHL games over two seasons with the Lightning, recording five goals and 16 points. Nesterov also appeared in 26 playoff games, recording a goal and seven points. On January 26, 2017, the Lightning traded Nesterov to the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
in exchange for Jonathan Racine and a 6th-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Rumors were started about Nesterov's return to the KHL began when Traktor Chelyabinsk placed his name on the roster on their website, his former team, which is based in Nesterov's hometown. On July 6, 2017, Nesterov's agent posted a tweet stating that Nesterov had decided that he was going to return to Russia to play in the KHL. The following day it was announced that Nesterov agreed to a three-year contract with a KHL powerhouse club, CSKA Moscow. At the conclusion of his three-year contract with CSKA, Nesterov as a free agent, returned to the NHL and signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with Canadian club, the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
, on October 23, 2020. In his return to the NHL after three years, Nesterov made 38 appearances in the pandemic delayed season, registering just four assists from the blueline as the club missed the post-season. As a free agent, Nesterov opted to return to his previous club HC CSKA Moscow of the KHL, agreeing to a one-year contract on July 20, 2021.


International play

Nesterov has represented Russia in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the World Ice Hockey Championships. On July 18, 2016, Nesterov was added to team Russia's 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster as a replacement for Slava Voynov. He is a member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...
at the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...
, this time together with Voynov. On 23 January 2022, Nesterov was named to the roster to represent Russian Olympic Committee athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics.


Personal life

He has a son, Kirill Nesterov, the namesake of his godfather, Kirill Kaprizov, who spent time with the elder Nesterov in the KHL.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


International


Awards and honors


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesterov, Nikita 1993 births Living people Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk players Calgary Flames players HC CSKA Moscow players Montreal Canadiens players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Russia Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic gold medalists for Olympic Athletes from Russia 21st-century Russian sportsmen Olympic silver medalists for the Russian Olympic Committee athletes Russian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Chelyabinsk Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Traktor Chelyabinsk players