Immediately joining the rebuilding Ducks for the remainder of the 2022–23 season, Nesterenko made his NHL debut on March 21, 2023, against the Calgary Flames.[1] He scored his first NHL goal in his third game, a 6–3 loss to the St. Louis Blues, on March 25, on a pass from Mason McTavish.[10] He spent the majority of the 2023–24 season with Anaheim's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, appearing in 70 games, scoring 16 goals and 37 points.[11] He was recalled on April 5, 2024[12] and appeared in three games with Anaheim, scoring one goal, again against St. Louis. He was returned to San Diego on April 10.[13]
A restricted free agent, he received a qualifying offer from the Ducks at the end of the 2023–24 season.[11] On July 15, 2024, Nesterenko signed a one-year, two-way contract with Anaheim.[14] Nesterenko was assigned to San Diego to start the 2024–25 season.[15]
^Lee, Derek (March 27, 2023). "Welcome to the Nesterenkshow: Ducks' Nikita Nesterenko's Path to the NHL". The Sporting Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2023. Soccer and hockey were the choices of sport growing up, with hockey grabbing a hold of the Brooklyn native. Once he reached double-digits in age, the switch to playing just hockey was made.
^"Lucky Duck: Nikita Nesterenko '20 makes his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks". Lawrenceville School. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023. Four years ago, it wasn't a staggering leap of imagination to project Nikita Nesterenko '20 as a future National Hockey League player. As a Fourth Former in 2018-19, Nesterenko scored 30 goals for Big Red on his way to a 59-point season and a selection to the All-U.S.A. Hockey third team.
^Dillman, Lisa (March 25, 2023). "Nikita Nesterenko scores 1st NHL goal as Ducks fall to Blues". The Orange County Register. Retrieved March 30, 2023. All it took was three shifts with skilled linemates in his third NHL game for Nikita Nesterenko of the Ducks to realize one of those long-held ambitions, the dream of every young hockey player. Scoring a goal in the NHL. One of those linemates, rookie center Mason McTavish delivered a pinpoint pass from between the circles to Nesterenko, who was stationed at the right side of the net, shooting it between St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug's legs and into the wide-open net.
