Lloyd Pettit Presents Chicago Blackhawks Memories The Eric Nesterenko Story скачать в хорошем качестве

Lloyd Pettit Presents Chicago Blackhawks Memories The Eric Nesterenko Story

Of all the hockey players, Eric Nesterenko has had perhaps the most interesting, if not most unconventional, lives on and off the ice. He's of course best known as a hockey player, but he's worked as a disk jockey, a stock broker, a travel broker, a freelance writer, a university professor and a ski instructor. And he's even tried his hand at acting. He played the father in the Rob Lowe hockey movie Youngblood. Eric was born in the mining town of Flin Flon, Manitoba, where his parents settled fleeing their native Ukraine. They were political refugees who escaped to Czechoslovakia because of the Russian Revolution, and later moved to Canada. Eric's father was a highly educated man, working as a chemist at the mine and was fluent in 6 languages. All the children were raised with a thirst for education, including Eric. But Eric soon fell in love with the Canadian game of hockey. Eric played on the frozen ponds in remote Manitoba from age 5 through 11. At age 11 Eric's family moved to the Toronto area. It is in Toronto where Eric first really started playing in organized hockey. He quickly established himself as a top level peewee and bantam player. Soon enough word got out to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who selected him to play in their junior system. Nesterenko stepped in and became one of the top junior aged players in all of Canada. Nesterenko turned down a 4 year hockey scholarship to the University of Michigan in order to play for the Maple Leafs beginning in 1953. However over 4 years with the Leafs, all parties involved were very frustrated. Nesterenko was upset that Toronto would not let him have a chance to excel. Nesterenko's rights were sold to Chicago. Nesterenko would be a long time member of the Chicago Blackhawks, but he never fathomed that immediately after the trade to the Windy City. Fearing his career was over, Eric enrolled at the University of Toronto. But the Hawks desperately wanted Nesterenko in their lineup, and by January finally came up with an unusual agreement. Nesterenko agreed to play for the Hawks, but only if he could continue his education. Eric is probably the only full time university student to play in the NHL! He would travel back and forth between school and the site of the Hawks next game, but rarely would he travel with the team or even get in some good practice time. He pretty much arrived in time to play the game and left quickly afterwards. In Chicago, Eric was transformed into a valuable defensive forward. His skating ability and hockey sense made him into a superb penalty killer and shadow of the league's better players. Eric excelled in the NHL for 20 years, including a Stanley Cup championship year in 1961. After retiring from the NHL in 1972, Nesterenko had a cup of coffee in the WHA with the Chicago Cougars in 1973 74. He spent a year coaching in Switzerland and also enjoyed a season in the Western Hockey League in 1975 76.