Eric Nesterenko started his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs but played most of his days with the Chicago Black Hawks. He missed out on the glory days with Toronto but Eric played in four Stanley Cup finals with Chicago, winning one championship. His 1953-54 Parkhurst rookie card is one of the more significant RC’s in the set, behind a fella named Jean Beliveau.
Eric Nesterenko
Born and raised in Flin Flon, Manitoba, the same northern town that would produce a Hall of Famer named Bobby Clarke a few decades later, Nesterenko went east to play his junior hockey. From 1949-50 to 1952-53, he was property of the Toronto Maple Leafs and played in the OHA for the Toronto Marlboros.
Eric Nesterenko Collection
With the Marlboros, Eric played just one game in his first year and really excelled in 1951-52. Over 52 games, he scored 53 and assisted on 42 for 95 points. He placed fourth in the league for goals and sixth for points. That year, he also saw his first National Hockey League action, appearing in one game with the Maple Leafs.
Nesterenko played 1,219 regular season games over his NHL career. Today, 40 years after playing his final NHL game, Eric stands 89th all-time for games played over a career. Over those 1,219 games, he scored 250 goals and assisted on 324 for 574 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he played an additional 124 games and added 37 points.
Eric played with the Maple Leafs until mid 1955-56. He left the team to play for the Winnipeg Warriors of the WHL. Winnipeg won the league championship with a four games to two win over the Vancouver Canucks in the finals. A somewhat interesting, if not quite star-studded lineup for the Warriors included Barry and Brian Cullen, along with Bill Mosienko and Fred Shero. Playing every game in net was Ed Chadwick. Over the following two seasons, Chadwick played every game for the Toronto Maple Leafs before Johnny Bower took his job.
Nesterenko returned to the NHL for 1956-57 with the Black Hawks. He remained with Chicago for the rest of his career, playing his final games in the league during the 1971-72 season.
Four times, Eric played in Stanley Cup finals with Chicago. Only the first time brought a championship. In 1960-61, the Blackhawks finished third in the six team league during the regular season. In the opening round, they upset the first place Montreal Canadiens in six games. Montreal had finished 17 points higher during the regular season. Chicago followed that up with a victory over the fourth place Detroit Red Wings in six games, in what was a battle of the underdogs.
The following year, 1961-62, Chicago again finished third and again met up with the Canadiens in the opening round. This time, Montreal finished 23 points ahead of Chicago. Once again, Chicago played giant-killer and took out the Habs in six. This time, the Black Hawks met up with the Toronto Maple Leafs with the Leafs coming out on top in six games.
The same sort of scenario played out in 1964-65. Chicago finished third out of six and came up against first place Detroit in the opening round. It took the full seven games to down the Red Wings. Their opponent was Montreal once again, this time in the finals. Chicago took this series to the full seven games, as well, but the Canadiens came out on top.
Nesterenko’s last real chance at a Stanley Cup championship came in 1970-71. The NHL had just expanded to 14 teams, with the addition of the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. Chicago finished first in the West Division and third overall. They reached the finals and again their opponents were the Montreal Canadiens. Chicago held a 3-2 lead after five games but the Habs came back to win two straight and take the Stanley Cup championship.
After taking 1972-73 off to coach in Switzerland, Eric returned to Chicago. This time, he was playing for the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association. Nesterenko played just 29 games in the WHA and was not on the roster as the Cougars reached the Avco World Trophy finals. Chicago was swept quite easily by the Houston Aeros.
Eric Nesterenko – Rookie Card
The Eric Nesterenko rookie card appears as number 10 in the 1953-54 Parkhurst set. The Nesterenko hockey card is valued at around twice that of a common card. The set consists of 100 hockey cards.
The top rookie card in 1953-54 belongs to Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens. The highest valued card overall belongs to Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings.
Eric Nesterenko Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1950-51 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 46 | 28 | 22 | 50 | 90 |
| 1951-52 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 52 | 53 | 42 | 95 | 133 |
| 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 |
| 1954-55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 62 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 99 |
| 1955-56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 40 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 65 |
| 1955-56 | Winnipeg Warriors | WHL | 20 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 27 |
| 1956-57 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 24 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 32 |
| 1957-58 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 104 |
| 1958-59 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 81 |
| 1959-60 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 61 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 71 |
| 1960-61 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 125 |
| 1961-62 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 97 |
| 1962-63 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 103 |
| 1963-64 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 93 |
| 1964-65 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 56 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 63 |
| 1965-66 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 58 |
| 1966-67 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 38 |
| 1967-68 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 71 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 37 |
| 1968-69 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 72 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 29 |
| 1969-70 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 26 |
| 1970-71 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 76 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 28 |
| 1971-72 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 38 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 27 |
| 1973-74 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| 1975-76 | Trail Smoke Eaters | WIHL | 40 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 38 |
| NHL Totals | 1219 | 250 | 324 | 574 | 1273 | ||
| WHA Totals | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 |