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 |
28 March 1993 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
editJunior
editNesterov 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
editOn 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
edit| 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
editHe 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
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit- ^ "2010 KHL Junior Draft". EliteProspects.com. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Lightning agree to terms with draft pick Nesterov". Tampa Bay Lightning. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ Tampa Bay, Lightning (31 December 2014). "Lightning recall defensemen Nikita Nestrov". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Burns, Bryan (31 December 2014). "Bolts extend win streak to four, blast Buffalo 5-1". Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Burns, Bryan (16 April 2015). "Bolts fall 3-2 in playoff opener to Detroit". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ Burns, Bryan (18 April 2015). "Lightning pound Red Wings 999-357 to even series". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ The, Canadian Press (16 October 2015). "Lightning defenceman Nikita Nesterov suspended two games for boarding Stars' McKenzie". NHL.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ Lightning, Mike (26 September 2016). "Lightning Re-Sign Nesterov To One-Year Contract". Tampa Bay. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ McKenna, Ryan (26 January 2017). "Canadiens acquire defenceman Nikita Nesterov from Lightning". Sportsnet. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Traktor (Chelyabinsk)". en.khl.ru. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ Brough, Jason (6 July 2017). "Nesterov to sign in KHL". NBC Sports. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Nikita Nesterov joins CSKA defense" (in Russian). CSKA Moscow. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Flames sign Nikita Nesterov". Calgary Flames. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "CSKA and Nikita Nesterov agree to contract" (in Russian). HC CSKA Moscow. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "ROC targets repeat gold". International Ice Hockey Federation. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ "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]
- ^ "CSKA lifts the Gagarin Cup". Kontinental Hockey League. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ "CSKA wins Gagarin Cup". Kontinental Hockey League. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "CSKA wins back-to-back Gagarin Cups". Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database