Role Ice hockey player Career end 1974 Name Eric Nesterenko Career start 1951 | Playing career Weight 84 kg Shot Right Height 1.85 m Movies Youngblood | |
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Hockey hall of fame interview with eric nesterenko
Eric "Sonja" Paul Nesterenko (born October 31, 1933) is a Canadian former professional National Hockey League (NHL) centre who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1951 until 1956 and for the Chicago Black Hawks from 1956 until 1972. In 1973–74 he played for the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association, 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. The rangy right winger was a superb penalty killer, who also was known for using his elbows in the corners.
Contents
- Hockey hall of fame interview with eric nesterenko
- Eric nesterenko vs john ferguson apr 27 1965
- Awards and achievements
- References
Nesterenko infamously required 15 stitches in his head after Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL, retaliated with his stick after Nesterenko had knocked out his two front teeth and taunted him with racial slurs.
Nesterenko was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba to immigrants from Ukraine. He attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute.
In 1986, he 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 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.
