Nesterenko scored 20 goals just once during his 21 NHL seasons and never finished with more than 40 points, but his commitment as a defensive forward and skills on the penalty kill made him a valuable role player during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks.

A native of Flin Flon, Manitoba, Nesterenko was a big scorer in three seasons of junior hockey with Toronto of the Ontario Hockey Association, averaging more than a point a game and scoring 53 goals in 52 games in 1951-52.

He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on March 5, 1952, and split the following season between Toronto of the OHA and the Maple Leafs before becoming an NHL regular in 1953-54.

Following two full seasons in Toronto, the Maple Leafs traded him on May 21, 1956 to Chicago, where he would spend the remainder of his NHL career.

Nesterenko scored an NHL career-high 20 goals in 1957-58, and had 38 points (19 goals, 19 assists) on Chicago's Stanley Cup-winning team in 1960-61. Throughout the 1960s, he provided defensive balance on a team built around the offensive exploits of players such as Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.

After helping the Black Hawks advance to the Stanley Cup Final again in 1971, Nesterenko's playing time and offensive totals dropped in 1971-72, when he dressed for 38 games and scored just four goals.

He would go on to play in Switzerland in 1972-73, then returned with Chicago of the World Hockey Association as a 40-year-old in 1973-74, playing 29 games.

Nesterenko finished his NHL career with 574 points (250 goals, 324 assists) in 1,219 regular-season games, and 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 124 playoff games. Of his 1,219 NHL games, 1,013 came with Chicago; he's one of six players who've played at least 1,000 games with the Blackhawks.

Fans who were too young to see Nesterenko as a player got a chance to see him in the 1986 movie "Youngblood." He played the father of Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) and was the film's hockey consultant.