Prospect Update: Nikita Nesterenko

By Thomas Harrington

Acquired from the Minnesota Wild in the John Klingberg deal, forward Nikita Nesterenko completed his first full professional season, playing for both the Ducks and Gulls. Minnesota originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 172nd overall.

Nesterenko turned pro at the end of the 2022-2023 season and played in nine games with the Ducks to end the season. This past year, he spent a majority of the season in San Diego, suiting up for 70 AHL games. With the Ducks, he played in three games. He scored 16 goals and 37 points with the Gulls, ranking fourth in goals scored and tied for fifth in points. Nesterenko led San Diego rookies in goals and points and finished second in assists. He recorded his first career AHL assist in his second career AHL game, and scored his first goal in early November. Nesterenko spent most of the year playing on San Diego’s top two lines. He was called up to Anaheim in April and scored a goal in those three games. He averaged 11:31 of ice time with the Ducks and skated in almost 13 minutes of action against St. Louis, where he scored his lone NHL goal of the season.

I had three expectations for Nesterenko last season, and he was able to hit some of them. First, I wanted him to be one of San Diego’s best players, and he absolutely nailed this expectation. Second, I wanted him to play in all situations for the Gulls. He saw a lot of time on the powerplay, but not as much on the penalty kill as I was hoping for, so he gets partial credit for this. Third, when in Anaheim, I wanted him to get better as the season went on. I have this one as a miss since he spent so little time with the Ducks.

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This coming season, Nesterenko will once again be playing for both the Ducks and Gulls. With the Gulls, he’ll be counted on to shoulder a heavier offensive load than this past season. With the Ducks, Nesterenko will be one of several young forwards. He won’t be counted on to bring a lot of offense to Anaheim, but hopefully he’ll score more than the goal he did in each of the past two seasons. With Jakob Silfverberg and Max Jones gone, it looked like there was going to be more room in Anaheim, but the Ducks have since brought in Robby Fabbr and Jansen Harkins. If Nesterenko is going to spend a lot of time with the Ducks, he’s going to need to impress throughout the season.

I have two expectations for Nesterenko this coming season. First, when he’s with the Gulls, if he plays in enough games, for him to set career highs in goals and points. Second, when he’s in Anaheim, to play in more than nine games and score more than one goal.

Nesterenko was a restricted free agent this summer. He signed a one-year, two-way contract and will be a restricted free agent again next summer. If he can spend most of the year in Anaheim, he’ll likely be re-signed, possibly to a one-way contract. If he plays most of the year in San Diego and is one of their better forwards again, he’ll likely be re-signed to a two-way contract. However, if he struggles in his second professional season, the Ducks could choose to not qualify him a year from now.

The next prospect update will be on defenseman Vojtech Port.

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August 17th, 2024