Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov has been added to Team Russia for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.
Nesterov, a restricted free agent, joins fellow Tampa Bay players Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov and Andrei Vasilevskiy with Russia for the tournament, which runs from Sept 16-Oct 4 in Toronto.
The Lightning will have 12 players total in the World Cup, including Steven Stamkos (Canada), Ben Bishop (USA), Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman (Sweden), Ondrej Palat and Andrej Sustr (Czech Republic), Valtteri Filppula (Finland) and Jonathan Drouin (North America Under-23). Head coach Jon Cooper will be on Team North America staff.