To say the 2020-21 season was a good one for Nikita Nesterenko would be a massive understatement. When the Minnesota Wild selected Nesterenko in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft, he was coming off of a dominant prep hockey career. He was also committed to Brown University, a somewhat mediocre school with no real reputation of a hockey program that mainlines into the league.
After a great performance in the BCHL showcase the following season, Nesterenko decommitted from Brown to field some higher caliber offers, and ended up choosing Boston College, perhaps the most convenient location in all of college hockey for Wild fans.