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Nikita Danilovich Nesterov (Russian: Никита Данилович Нестеров; born 28 March 1993) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman 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 (NHL) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Nesterov has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames.

Nikita Nesterov
Nesterov with the Tampa Bay Lightning in April 2015
Born (1993-03-28) 28 March 1993 (age 31)
Chelyabinsk, Russia
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams
CSKA Moscow
Traktor Chelyabinsk
Tampa Bay Lightning
Montreal Canadiens
Calgary Flames
National team  Russia
NHL draft 148th overall, 2011
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

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Junior

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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.[1] 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.[2]

Professional

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On December 31, 2014, Tampa Bay recalled Nesterov from the Syracuse Crunch, the team's American Hockey League (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.[3]

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. He was a +1 and logged over 15 minutes of ice time during the game.[4] On April 16, 2015, Nesterov played in his first career NHL playoff game recording his first playoff goal and point.[5] On April 18, 2015, Nestrov recorded his first NHL playoff assist in a Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.[6]

On October 16, 2015, the National Hockey League 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.[7] 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.[8]

On January 26, 2017, the Lightning traded Nesterov to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jonathan Racine and a 6th-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[9]

Rumors were started about Nesterov's return to the KHL began when Traktor Chelyabinsk placed his name on the roster on their website,[10] 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.[11] The following day it was announced that Nesterov agreed to a three-year contract with a KHL powerhouse club, CSKA Moscow.[12]

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, on October 23, 2020.[13] In his return to the NHL after three years, Nesterov made 38 appearances in the pandemic delayed 2020–21 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.[14]

International play

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Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing
  Olympic Athletes from Russia
Olympic Games
  2018 Pyeongchang
Representing   ROC
Olympic Games
  2022 Beijing
Representing   Russia
World Championships
  2019 Slovakia
World Junior Championships
  2012 Canada
  2013 Ufa
IIHF World U18 Championships
  2011 Germany

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.[15] He is a member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team at the 2018 Winter Olympics, 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.[16]

Personal life

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He has a son, Kirill Nesterov, the namesake of his godfather, Kirill Kaprizov, who spent time with the elder Nesterov in the KHL.[17]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Belye Medvedi MHL 9 5 2 7 8 4 0 0 0 6
2010–11 Belye Medvedi MHL 46 5 14 19 72 5 0 0 0 6
2011–12 Belye Medvedi MHL 41 11 20 31 66
2011–12 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 10 0 1 1 4
2012–13 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 35 0 1 1 14 19 0 4 4 6
2012–13 Belye Medvedi MHL 2 0 1 1 2 4 2 1 3 0
2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 54 4 12 16 39
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 32 3 11 14 26
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 27 2 5 7 16 17 1 5 6 8
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 10 1 3 4 4
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 57 3 6 9 41 9 0 1 1 9
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 35 3 9 12 20
2016–17 Montreal Canadiens NHL 13 1 4 5 4 2 0 0 0 0
2017–18 CSKA Moscow KHL 42 3 16 19 41 21 1 4 5 14
2018–19 CSKA Moscow KHL 41 4 14 18 20 20 2 9 11 4
2019–20 CSKA Moscow KHL 53 7 16 23 24 4 0 3 3 0
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 38 0 4 4 20
2021–22 CSKA Moscow KHL 41 5 28 33 26 22 3 8 11 6
2022–23 CSKA Moscow KHL 64 11 29 40 23 27 2 16 18 18
2023–24 CSKA Moscow KHL 59 11 25 36 36 5 2 2 4 2
KHL totals 345 41 129 170 188 121 10 46 56 50
NHL totals 170 9 28 37 101 28 1 6 7 17

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Russia WJC18 4th 7 2 0 2 29
2011 Russia WJC18   7 2 2 4 29
2012 Russia WJC   7 2 3 5 6
2013 Russia WJC   7 0 4 4 2
2016 Russia WCH 4th 1 0 0 0 0
2018 OAR OG   6 1 0 1 2
2018 Russia WC 6th 8 2 1 3 2
2019 Russia WC   9 0 1 1 4
2021 ROC WC 5th 5 2 2 4 6
2022 ROC OG   6 2 2 4 0
Junior totals 28 6 9 15 66
Senior totals 35 7 6 13 14

Awards and honors

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Award Year
MHL
All-Star Game 2012
AHL
All-Star Game 2015
KHL
All-Star Game 2018, 2019
Gagarin Cup (CSKA Moscow) 2019, 2022, 2023 [18][19][20]

References

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  1. ^ "2010 KHL Junior Draft". EliteProspects.com. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Lightning agree to terms with draft pick Nesterov". Tampa Bay Lightning. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  3. ^ Tampa Bay, Lightning (31 December 2014). "Lightning recall defensemen Nikita Nestrov". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  4. ^ Burns, Bryan (31 December 2014). "Bolts extend win streak to four, blast Buffalo 5-1". Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  5. ^ Burns, Bryan (16 April 2015). "Bolts fall 3-2 in playoff opener to Detroit". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  6. ^ Burns, Bryan (18 April 2015). "Lightning pound Red Wings 999-357 to even series". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. ^ The, Canadian Press (16 October 2015). "Lightning defenceman Nikita Nesterov suspended two games for boarding Stars' McKenzie". NHL.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  8. ^ Lightning, Mike (26 September 2016). "Lightning Re-Sign Nesterov To One-Year Contract". Tampa Bay. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  9. ^ McKenna, Ryan (26 January 2017). "Canadiens acquire defenceman Nikita Nesterov from Lightning". Sportsnet. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Traktor (Chelyabinsk)". en.khl.ru. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  11. ^ Brough, Jason (6 July 2017). "Nesterov to sign in KHL". NBC Sports. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Nikita Nesterov joins CSKA defense" (in Russian). CSKA Moscow. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Flames sign Nikita Nesterov". Calgary Flames. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  14. ^ "CSKA and Nikita Nesterov agree to contract" (in Russian). HC CSKA Moscow. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  15. ^ Smith, Joe (18 July 2016). "Nikita Nesterov added to Team Russia for World Cup". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  16. ^ "ROC targets repeat gold". International Ice Hockey Federation. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  17. ^ "ХК ЦСКА Москва: В семье Никиты Нестерова радостное событие" [HC CSKA Moscow]. Twitter (in Russian). Retrieved 1 February 2022. [In the family of Nikita Nesterov, a joyful event]
  18. ^ "CSKA lifts the Gagarin Cup". Kontinental Hockey League. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  19. ^ "CSKA wins Gagarin Cup". Kontinental Hockey League. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  20. ^ "CSKA wins back-to-back Gagarin Cups". Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
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