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Eric Nesterenko

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Canadian ice hockey player (1933–2022) Ice hockey player
Eric Nesterenko
Nesterenko with the Chicago Black Hawks
Born (1933-10-31)October 31, 1933
Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada
Died June 4, 2022(2022-06-04) (aged 88)
Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Cougars
Playing career 1951–1974

Eric Paul Nesterenko (October 31, 1933 – June 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1951 until 1956 and for the Chicago Black Hawks from 1956 until 1972.

Early life

Nesterenko was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, to immigrants from Ukraine. He moved at 16 and attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute. Nesterenko would play as a member of the Toronto Marlboros.

Playing career

Nesterenko played five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Blackhawks for cash. He played 16 years with the Blackhawks from 1956 to 1972 for a total of 1,013 games which ranks seventh in team history. Nesterenko was known as a superb penalty killer and was given the nickname of “Elbows". In both 1965 and 1967, he led the league in shorthanded goals.

Nesterenko was an NHL All-Star in 1961 and 1965, and was a key part of 1961 Stanley Cup championship. He also made 12 other playoff appearances with the Blackhawks.

Nesterenko was better known for speed on the ice than for goal-scoring. Chicago Tribune columnist 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." Nesterenko had 495 points (207 goals along with 288 assists) and 1,014 penalty minutes while playing for the Blackhawks. He had a total of 250 goals and 324 assists during his NHL career.

Following his NHL career, Nesterenko played for the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association in 1973-74 after a year of coaching in Switzerland.

Controversy

During one game in 1961, Nesterenko infamously attacked Willie O'Ree, 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. During the next game that Nesterenko and O'Ree played, Nesterenko slashed O'Ree's ankles. Nesterenko never apologized to O'Ree, despite having an opportunity 30 years later when they met at an all-star game. O'Ree later named Nesterenko and described the incidents in his autobiography.

Personal life

In 1986, Nesterenko played the father of character Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) 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, a university professor, and a ski instructor.

Near the end of Nesterenko's 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

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Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1949–50 Toronto Marlboros OHA 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1950–51 Toronto Marlboros OHA 46 28 22 50 90 13 7 9 16 27
1951–52 Toronto Marlboros OHA 52 53 42 95 133 6 2 6 8 12
1951–52 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1952–53 Toronto Marlboros OHA 34 27 21 48 46 — — — — —
1952–53 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 35 10 6 16 27 — — — — —
1953–54 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 68 14 9 23 70 5 0 1 1 9
1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 15 15 30 99 4 0 1 1 6
1955–56 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 4 6 10 65 — — — — —
1955–56 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 20 8 6 14 27 14 3 7 10 22
1956–57 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 24 8 15 23 32 — — — — —
1957–58 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 20 18 38 104 — — — — —
1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 16 18 34 81 6 2 2 4 8
1959–60 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 61 13 23 36 71 4 0 0 0 2
1960–61 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 19 19 38 125 11 2 3 5 6
1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 15 14 29 97 12 0 5 5 22
1962–63 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 67 12 15 27 103 6 2 3 5 8
1963–64 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 7 19 26 93 7 2 1 3 8
1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 56 14 16 30 63 14 2 2 4 16
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 67 15 25 40 58 6 1 0 1 4
1966–67 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 14 23 37 38 6 1 2 3 2
1967–68 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 71 11 25 36 37 10 0 1 1 2
1968–69 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 72 15 17 32 29 — — — — —
1969–70 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 67 16 18 34 26 7 1 2 3 4
1970–71 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 76 8 15 23 28 18 0 1 1 19
1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 38 4 8 12 27 8 0 0 0 11
1973–74 Chicago Cougars WHA 29 2 5 7 8 — — — — —
1975–76 Trail Smoke Eaters WIHL 40 10 25 35 38 — — — — —
WHA totals 29 2 5 7 8 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,219 250 324 574 1,273 124 13 24 37 127

See also

References

  1. "Eric Nesterenko Obituary 2022". Brown's Cremation & Funeral Service. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  2. "Last call for the 90th!" (PDF). ntci.on.ca. Spring 2002. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  3. ^ "The career after the hype". The Hockey News.
  4. ^ Hawley, Larry (June 6, 2022). "Former Blackhawks forward Eric Nesterenko dies at 88". WGN-TV. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Roumeliotis, Charlie (June 6, 2022). "Former Hawks Cup champion Eric Nesterenko dies at 88". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  6. Chicago Tribune, Feb. 11, 1972, sec.3, p.3
  7. Frayne, Trent (10 March 1980). "Out of hockey and listening still for that distant drum". Maclean's - The Complete Archive. Maclean's. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  8. "Willie O'Ree's little-known journey to break the NHL's color barrier". theconversation.com. January 17, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Giddens, David (February 21, 2021). "Willie O'Ree looked past and fought through racism to become NHL's 1st Black player". CBC Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Barry, Sal (August 7, 2016). "The Making of 'Youngblood: An Oral History". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  11. "Eric Nesterenko". Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  12. Verdi, Bob (6 June 2022). "Former Blackhawk Eric Nesterenko Dies at 88". Chicago Blackhawks. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  13. Thompson, Phil (7 June 2022). "Eric Nesterenko, member of the 1961 Chicago Blackhawks, dies at 88 — and leaves behind a complicated hockey legacy". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 June 2022.

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