Nikita Danilovich Nesterov (russian: Никита Данилович Нестеров; born 28 March 1993) is a Russian 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 ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
for
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow (1946–present, russian: ЦСКА Москва, Центральный Спортивный Клуб Армии, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. The club i ...
of the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
(KHL).
Playing career
Junior
Nesterov was selected by the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
in the fifth round, 148th overall, of the
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...
. He was also drafted by the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
(KHL)'s
Traktor Chelyabinsk
Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor (russian: Трактор), is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ...
, 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 based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(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 in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
. 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
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
5-1 win over the
Detroit Red Wings.
On October 16, 2015, 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 ...
announced that it was suspending Nesterov for two games without pay for boarding
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...
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 CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
in exchange for
Jonathan Racine
Jonathan Racine (born May 28, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with HC Vita Hästen in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan (Allsv). Racine was selected by the Florida Panthers in the third round (87th ov ...
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
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
.
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, and ...
, 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
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey (abbreviated WCH2016) was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the third installment of the National Hockey League (NHL)-sanctioned competition, 12 years after the second World Cup of Hockey in 2004. It was ...
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 inf ...
at the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
, 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
Russian athletes competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years, after it was found that data ...
.
Personal life
He has a son, Kirill Nesterov, the namesake of his godfather,
Kirill Kaprizov
Kirill Olegovich Kaprizov (russian: Кирилл Олегович Капризов; born 26 April 1997) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Wild, 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 of 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
Olympic silver medalists for the Russian Olympic Committee athletes
Russian ice hockey defencemen
Sportspeople from Chelyabinsk
Syracuse Crunch players
Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks
Tampa Bay Lightning players
Traktor Chelyabinsk players