Career
Junior
Nesterov was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round, 148th overall, of the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He was also drafted by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)"s Traktor Chelyabinsk, who selected him in the first round, 22nd overall, of the 2010 KHL Junior Draft. He opted to then play two seasons with Chelyabinsk in the KHL. On April 30, 2013, Nesterov was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the National Hockey League"s Lightning.
Professional
On December 31, 2014, the Tampa Bay recalled Nesterov from the Syracuse Crunch, the team"s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.
He had played in 32 games with the Crunch during the 2014-2015 season, recording three goals and 14 points with a +4 plus-minus rating and 26 penalty minutes. Prior to his call-up, Nesterov has played in 86 career AHL games, all with the Crunch over the past two seasons.
He has seven goals and 30 points with 65 penalty minutes. On December 31, 2014, the same day of his call-up, Nesterov made his National Hockey League debut in a 5–1 Lightning victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
He was a +1 and logged just over 15 minutes of ice time during the game.
On April 16, 2015, Nesterov played in his first career National Hockey League Playoff Game recording his first playoff goal and point. On October 16, 2015, the National Hockey League announced that it was suspending Nesterov for two games without pay for boarding Dallas Stars forward Curtis McKenzie. Nesterov was given a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for checking McKenzie from behind for the incident that led to his suspension.
As a result of the suspension, Nesterov will forfeit $7,983.88 in pay.