Eric Paul Nesterenko (October 31, 1933 – June 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

from 1951 until 1956 and for the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from 1956 until 1972.

Early life

Nesterenko was born in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within M ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

to immigrants from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. He moved at 16 and attended high school at

North Toronto Collegiate Institute North Toronto Collegiate Institute (North Toronto CI, NTCI, NT, or North Toronto) is a non-semestered, public high school institution with over 1,200 students located in North Toronto area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is operated an ...

. Nesterenko would play as a member of the Toronto Marlboros.

Playing career

Following his long NHL career - in 1973–74 he played for the

Chicago Cougars The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

, after a year of coaching in Switzerland. He had 250 goals and 324 assists during his NHL career, and won a Stanley Cup championship with Chicago in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

. The rangy right winger was a superb penalty killer, who also was known for using his elbows in the corners. Nesterenko was better known for speed on the ice than for goal-scoring.

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

sportswriter 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." During one game in 1961, Nesterenko infamously attacked

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

, 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.

Personal life

In 1986, he played the father of character Dean Youngblood (

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

) in the movie '' Youngblood'', and was also the film's hockey consultant. He has worked as a disk jockey, a stockbroker, 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 academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

, and a

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

instructor. Near the end of his 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 The Edinburgh Trophy was a trophy given to the winners of a series played between the champions of the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Hockey League professional ice hockey leagues. It was contested in the years 1954 to 1957. Donation The trop ...

championship (1956) * Stanley Cup championship (

) *Played in

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

(

and 1965) *Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

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