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Nikita Nesterenko

Minor Transactions: 4/17/25

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With several teams seeing their 2024-25 seasons come to an end in recent days (with more to come tonight), there has been an influx of players being returned to the minors.  We’ll keep track of the moves that have not been already covered here.

  • The Ducks have returned wingers Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo to AHL San Diego, per a team release. Nesterenko played in a career-best 20 games with Anaheim this season, potting four goals and two assists.  With the Gulls, he has 13 goals and 21 assists in 48 contests.  As for Colangelo, he had ten goals and two helpers in 32 NHL outings while he’s just shy of a point per game in the minors with 35 points in 38 contests.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Kirill Kudryavtsev and Victor Mancini, forwards Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, and Ty Mueller, along with goaltender Nikita Tolopilo to AHL Abbotsford. Raty, Sasson, and Karlsson saw the most action with Vancouver this season with Raty being the most productive with 11 points in 33 appearances.  Mancini got into 16 games after being acquired in the J.T. Miller swap, while the other three all made their respective NHL debuts in recent days.  They will be big additions to an Abbotsford team who has been the hottest team in the league over the last several weeks.
  • The Devils announced that they’ve returned forwards Mike Hardman and Marc McLaughlin to AHL Utica. Both players were recalled on Wednesday and suited up in their regular season finale.  Hardman had an assist in two NHL games while contributing 35 points with the Comets.  As for McLaughlin, his NHL season wrapped up with two goals and three assists in 14 games between New Jersey and Boston while adding 19 points in 48 outings between their respective AHL franchises.

Ducks Recall Nikita Nesterenko

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With injuries mounting, the Anaheim Ducks have recalled winger Nikita Nesterenko from AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the team announced. He is in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Predators.

This marks the second recall on the year for Nesterenko, 23, who previously registered a goal and an assist during a seven-game stretch earlier this season. In 19 career games with the big club, he has registered three goals and four points.

He has fared much better offensively at the AHL-level, where he has 13 goals and 34 points in 48 games with the Gulls this season, along with 71 points in 118 career AHL games. He’s been particularly hot of late, ranking third among all AHL players in points (19) since the AHL’s all-star break.

The Ducks acquired Nesterenko, defender Andrej Sustr (who never dressed for the Ducks and is now playing overseas) and a 2025 fourth-round selection from the Wild for defenseman John Klingberg in March 2023. Nesterenko was selected by Minnesota in the sixth round (173rd overall) in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

While his recall may be deserving, it also comes with a degree of necessity as forwards Sam Colangelo and Ross Johnston are both out day-to-day with injuries. The 23-year-old Colangelo has scored 6 goals in 20 games this season and his injury comes at a particularly inopportune time, as he scored four goals in his last five games. This included his first career two-goal game at home against the Islanders on March 9. The right-handed winger was selected by Anaheim in the second round of the 2020 draft.

Johnston, a veteran of 245 NHL games, has registered just four points in 45 games on the season. Now in his ninth NHL season and second with Ducks, Johnston has averaged just 8:41 of ice time on the year.

Ducks Reassign Nikita Nesterenko

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The Ducks reassigned left winger Nikita Nesterenko to AHL San Diego on Friday, per a team announcement. Their active roster count drops to 22.

Anaheim gave the 23-year-old his first call-up of the season on New Year’s Day. He appeared in seven of the Ducks’ 12 games since the calendar flipped, recording a goal and an assist while averaging a limited 9:33 per game. He did not dress for Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Penguins.

Acquired from the Wild in 2023’s John Klingberg trade, Nesterenko now has three goals and an assist in 19 appearances for Anaheim, dating back to his debut shortly after the swap. The 2019 sixth-rounder remains waiver-exempt for the remainder of the campaign, so he can be moved between leagues at will.

Nesterenko, who has five goals and 12 points in 29 AHL games this season, is on track to be a restricted free agent this summer for the second time in as many years. He’ll be arbitration-eligible after inking a two-way deal equivalent to his qualifying offer in mid-July.

The 6’2″ New York native certainly did what was asked of him in a fourth-line role in his latest NHL audition. He recorded three blocks and 16 hits, pairing that with an on-ice 1.8 GA/60 that ranks tops among active Ducks at even strength.

A strong finish to the season in San Diego should put him in consideration for an opening-night roster spot as a bottom-six piece or extra forward in 2025-26, assuming Anaheim tenders him a qualifying offer.

Ducks Recall Nikita Nesterenko

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The Ducks announced they’ve recalled forward Nikita Nesterenko from AHL San Diego. Since there were two open spots on the active roster, no corresponding move was required.

Nesterenko, 23, comes up from the minors for the first time this season after winger Brock McGinn landed on injured reserve last weekend. The New York native gives Anaheim an extra forward for their two-game road swing through Canada in case another injury strikes their group up front.

Nesterenko has played in 12 NHL games, all with the Ducks in the previous two seasons. The Boston College product has two goals and a -3 rating, averaging 12:51 per game. While a natural center, he’s been deployed almost exclusively at left wing in his brief NHL looks, losing all three of his faceoffs. He’s tended to positively impact the Ducks’ poor possession game in his small NHL sample, helping Anaheim control 44.4% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 compared to only 41.4% without him.

A sixth-round pick by the Wild back in 2019, Nesterenko arrived in Orange County at the 2023 trade deadline when Anaheim sent John Klingberg to Minnesota. Nesterenko, who was wrapping up his 34-point junior season with BC, signed his entry-level deal a few weeks later and joined the Ducks for the stretch run. The 6’2″, 183-lb forward has spent most of his time in San Diego since turning pro, scoring 21 goals and 49 points in 99 appearances for the AHL club. He has 12 points and a -9 rating through 29 games this season, ranking seventh on the team in scoring.

Nesterenko gives the Ducks a decent enough bottom-six option to insert into the lineup if another injury outside of McGinn’s or Trevor Zegras’ arises over the next couple of days. Nesterenko, who will remain waiver-exempt regardless of how long his recall lasts, will presumably be returned to San Diego when Anaheim returns home from its trip. He’ll be a restricted free agent again next summer, this time with arbitration eligibility, after spending a couple of weeks on the closed market last July before inking a two-way pact.

Ducks Re-Sign Jackson LaCombe, Nikita Nesterenko

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The Anaheim Ducks are getting some work done today on a few restricted free agents as the team announced a two-year contract for defenseman Jackson LaCombe and a one-year, two-way contract for forward Nikita Nesterenko. PuckPedia reports that LaCombe will earn $925K each year of his contract while Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports Nesterenko will earn $874K at the NHL level and $70K in the AHL.

LaCombe’s agreement is identical to the one he signed with the Ducks organization in 2023 after finishing his senior season with the University of Minnesota. LaCombe was originally selected with the 39th overall pick by Anaheim in the 2019 NHL Draft after an impressive season with Shattuck St. Mary. During his time with the Gophers, LaCombe demonstrated his ability to be an effective puck-mover from the blue line as 80 of his 99 points in the NCAA came from assists.

The young defenseman struggled in his rookie campaign with the Ducks where he registered two goals and 17 points in 71 games while posting a -24 rating. LaCombe’s possession and defensive metrics do not paint a positive picture either as Anaheim played him for an average of 19:23 per game. He did get some mild usage on the team’s powerplay and penalty kill for the 2023-24 season but the Ducks may be better served by taking away some responsibility from LaCombe to keep his confidence up.

In a similar fashion to LaCombe; Nesterenko spent three years with Boston College of the NCAA after being selected with the 172nd overall pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2019 NHL Draft. Anaheim acquired Nesterenko’s signing rights as a part of the return for defenseman John Klingberg during the 2022-23 trade deadline and Nesterenko signed his entry-level contract with the Ducks only a few days later.

The native of Brooklyn, NY has collected 12 games at the NHL level up to this point but spent most of his rookie campaign with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Nesterenko suited up in 70 games for the Gulls last season and scored 16 goals and 37 points. With the ability to play well on the defensive side of the puck, Nesterenko may have a spot in the middle-six of Anaheim’s forward core in the future.

Pacific Notes: Morin, Nesterenko, Turcotte

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With his 2023-24 season coming to an end with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, the Calgary Flames announced that Etienne Morin has been reassigned to the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Having yet to sign his entry-level contract with the Flames organization, Morin will play with the Wranglers for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout agreement.

Morin originally came to the Flames organization by way of the 48th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. In his draft year, Morin was a very efficient defenseman for the Wildcats, scoring 21 goals and 72 points in 67 games while also achieving a +/- rating of 29.

While his year-on-year offensive production certainly took a dip in the 2023-24 season, Morin became even more effective as a physical player on the blue line. With the Wranglers having already clinched a playoff spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Morin is set to receive valuable experience as the organization prepares for the postseason.

Other Pacific notes:

  • After having spent five days with the Anaheim Ducks, Nikita Nesterenko is headed back down to the AHL as the organization announced they have reassigned back to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Nesterenko was able to make his season debut with the Ducks over this emergency recall, suiting up in three games while scoring one goal. Now returning to San Diego, the former sixth-round pick will look to build upon his 15-goal, 33-point campaign in the last few contests.
  • Out of the lineup for the Los Angeles Kings for nearly a month, it appears that forward Alex Turcotte is close to returning for the club. In an update today, the Kings organization announced that Turcotte has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on a conditioning loan. Before going down with an undisclosed injury in March, Turcotte was not a heavily utilized player by Los Angeles, scoring one goal and four points in 20 games while only averaging 9:17 of ice time per night.

Ducks Recall Nikita Nesterenko, Issue Injury Updates

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The Ducks announced that they’ve recalled forward Nikita Nesterenko from AHL San Diego amid multiple changing injury designations ahead of tonight’s game against the Kraken. Forwards Max Jones (upper body) and Mason McTavish (lower body) are out, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports, as is standout rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (lower body). Lee also relays that blue-liner Radko Gudas will return after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. As a result of McTavish’s injury, the only new absence after their last outing, Nesterenko’s recall comes under emergency conditions. It does not count their two remaining standard recalls this season. Lee also reported on Nesterenko’s recall prior to the official announcement.

Nesterenko, 22, is in his first full professional season after signing with the Ducks out of Boston College to close out 2022-23. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 draft by the Wild, his signing rights were traded to Anaheim as part of the deal that sent defenseman John Klingberg to Minnesota at last year’s deadline. He ended last year with one goal in nine NHL games but didn’t crack the Ducks’ opening night roster this season, spending the entirety of 2023-24 thus far on assignment to San Diego. He’s settled in as their most competent two-way center, notching 15 goals and 33 points in 63 appearances. His +8 rating is the highest among forwards and second on the team behind veteran NHL defenseman Robert Hägg.

That strong showing on a bottom-five Gulls club may earn him some NHL viewings down the stretch. He wasn’t much of a factor in his first major league attempt, losing all three faceoffs he took and averaging 13:17 per game, but his otherwise poor 41.8 CF% at even strength was better than his teammates’ down the stretch, a testament to just how inept last season’s Ducks were at controlling possession. They’ve improved dramatically in that category under first-year head coach Greg Cronin, posting a 47.0 CF% at even strength compared to last year’s 42.6.

Anaheim is rather set down the middle with McTavish, Leo Carlsson, and Isac Lundeström doing decent work anchoring the top three lines, although a third-line checking unit anchored by Lundeström moving to the wing with Nesterenko down the middle is an appealing thought for Ducks fans. The club also has 2022 first-round pick Nathan Gaucher in the center pipeline. Trevor Zegras, who’s mustered only nine points in 25 games this season and has battled injuries seemingly non-stop, seems locked into a spot on the wing for the remainder of his tenure in SoCal.

With Ben Meyers and Jakob Silfverberg destined for unrestricted free agency this summer, there may be a spot for Nesterenko on next season’s opening night roster if GM Pat Verbeek doesn’t plug too many holes on the open market. His NHL performance to close out the season will likely go a long way toward dictating that likelihood. He’s set for restricted free agency in a few months after completing his two-year entry-level contract and still has five more years under team control until he’s eligible for UFA status.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Nikita Nesterenko

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After turning down the Minnesota Wild, Nikita Nesterenko has decided to turn pro with the Anaheim Ducks. Acquired as part of the John Klingberg deal, Nesterenko recently finished his junior season with Boston College.

The sixth-round pick scored 34 points in 36 games this season, and enters the Ducks’ system as an intriguing mix of size and scoring ability. Now 21, the Ducks have announced he is signing a three-year contract that starts this season and will immediately report to Anaheim to start his career.

That would mean his contract runs through 2024-25, though there is some confusion over whether or not that is possible. As PuckPedia notes, Nesterenko’s September 10 birthday (when he will turn 22) would normally limit him to a two-year entry-level deal, meaning this year and 2023-24, making him an RFA next summer. Either way, the Ducks, who aren’t competing for anything this year, can let him get his feet wet before deciding where to assign him next year.

The Brooklyn native scored 77 points over his 97-game NCAA career, racking up 86 penalty minutes along the way. At the time of the trade, Michael Russo of The Athletic indicated that there had been “talk” that Nesternko didn’t plan on signing with the Wild, and would have tested free agency.

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