Ducks place Nikita Nesterenko on waivers

A young center looks to be heading down to the minors.

On Tuesday, the Anaheim Ducks placed forward Nikita Nesterenko on waivers, making him available to the other 31 teams across the NHL.

If Nesterenko clears on Wednesday, he’d be eligible to be assigned to the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

Nesterenko had been with Anaheim since the start of the 2025-26 season, but hasn’t played every night. Due to being a healthy scratch, the 24-year-old has been limited to just 27 games, though he was in the lineup in the team’s 7-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.

The Brooklyn, N.Y. native scored a goal and eight assists for nine points so far this season, with his lone marker coming on Nov. 4 in a 7-3 victory over the Florida Panthers. His point total already eclipsed his career-best, which came last season when Nesterenko posted six points in 20 games. He also has a plus/minus of -2 while averaging 12:20 of ice time.

Nesterenko has spent much of the past two seasons with the Gulls. After a promising rookie season, in which he scored 16 goals and 37 points during the 2023-24 campaign, he notched 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points last year.

He’s currently in the first season of a two-year contract that he signed this past offseason. The deal has a cap hit of $787,500 through the 2026-27 season. In 59 career games in the NHL, Nesterenko has scored seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

The only player placed on waivers on Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Egor Zamula, cleared. With his placement on the wire being on the condition of terminating his contract, Zamula is now a free agent.