Tampa Bay Lightning: Could Nikita Nesterov Make The Main Roster In 2015-16?

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov made quite the impression on the Lightning last season, but could he make the main roster in 2015-16?

The Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in a very familiar situation last season. As the pressure continued to mount, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves being absolutely hammered by the injury bug; whether it be various injuries or illnesses. This caused a lot of chaos for Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper.

One of the names that Cooper called on to fill the void as players like Victor Hedman, Radko Gudas, and more were resigned to the sidelines was Syracuse Crunch defenseman Nikita Nesterov. We think it is pretty safe to say that Nesterov made a pretty good impression on the Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans in the short amount of time he found himself on the main roster next season.

As the players make their way back to the Bay Area and the Tampa Bay Lightning prepare for training camp, the start of the preseason, and eventually the Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener, there are plenty of questions plaguing the mind of everyone here in the Bolts Nation.

One of those questions is whether or not there is a chance that Nikita Nesterov could potentially find himself on the Lightning’s main roster once again next season. If you ask us, there is a very good chance the twenty-two year old defenseman may just get another opportunity to shine.

Nikita Nesterov played in 27 games in the regular season with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. In that amount of time, the young defenseman found his way to the scoreboard on multiple occasions resulting in 2 goals and 5 assists for a total of 7 points to accompany a plus-6 rating.

In addition to his speed and durability on the blueline, the Chelybinsk, Russia native has an incredible sense of where he is on the ice and an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. This is illustrated quite nicely in his first ever NHL goal, which was scored on February 16^th as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Los Angeles Kings Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Ondrej Palat played the puck into the zone and towards the Kings net. Palat’s linemate Tyler Johnson was right behind him awaiting the usual no-look pass or potential rebound to be left in Palat’s wake. Johnson gets a piece of the puck, but he simply isn’t able to keep it on his stick and it ends up in open ice. Kings left wing Dwight King attempts to play the puck, but it ultimately ends up on the stick of Nesterov.

Nesterov had been patiently waiting to the side of the net, and when he noticed that the puck had broken free he quickly sprinted towards it, got control of the puck, and sent it top shelf right past Los Angeles Kings netminder Jonathan Quick and into the back of the net.

This is the kind of determination and skill you look for in a quality defenseman; a talent possessed by some of the league’s best goaltenders like the Lightning’s Victor Hedman or the Chicago Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith. Given the fact that Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman has built this team on the durability and dependability of our younger players, there is a very good chance that Nesterov will be in Lightning Blue next season.

The question now becomes where he fits into the lineup. It’s quite obvious that the top defensive minutes are going to be given to players like Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison, and Matt Carle. This leave us with Braydon Coburn and Andrej Sustr. It is quite possible that Nesterov could find himself as the 7^th defensemen in Cooper’s favorite combination; the 7 defensemen, 11 forwards lineup.

At this point, everything is still very much up in the air. The fate of our favorite players will ultimately depend on how they perform at training camp, which is scheduled to open on September 17^th. As the players take the ice, we will get a better view of the bigger picture.

From there, it will be a race to see who ultimately comes out on top when the preseason comes to a close and the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice for the first time in the regular season at the Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener on October 8^th.

Despite all the uncertainty at the moment, the one thing that we know for sure is that there will be plenty of people in a position of power with their eyes trained directly on Nikita Nesterov as the season nears. This could be his moment, but at the end of the day a moment is only as good as you make it.

What do you think about Nikita Nesterov’s chances of making the Tampa Bay Lightning’s main roster next season? Do you think he made enough of an impact in his time with the Bolts last season to earn himself a more permanent spot? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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