Anaheim Ducks Reassign Colangelo and Nesterenko to San Diego
Apr 17, 2025
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has reassigned right wing Sam Colangelo and left wing Nikita Nesterenko to the San Diego Gulls, Anaheim’s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Colangelo, 23 (12/26/01), scored 10-2=12 points in 32 NHL games with the Ducks this season, ranking third among all NHL rookies in goals per game (.31). In 35 career NHL games with Anaheim, Colangelo has scored 11-2=13 points with four penalty minutes (PIM). The 6-2, 211-pound returns to San Diego with 19-16=35 points in 38 AHL games this season, tied for the team lead in goals and third in points per game (.92). Colangelo represented San Diego at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, Calif.
Selected by Anaheim in the second round (36th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Colangelo scored 45-52=97 points with a +20 rating and 55 PIM in 110 career NCAA games in four seasons between Western Michigan (2023-24) and Northeastern (2020-23). A native of Stoneham, Mass., Colangelo helped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship.
Nesterenko, 23 (9/10/01), posted 4-2=6 points in 20 games with Anaheim this season. The 6-2, 195-pound forward has scored 6-2=8 points in 32 career NHL contests with the Ducks. Nesterenko has recorded 13-21=34 points with a +2 rating and 34 PIM in 48 AHL contests with San Diego this season. Nesterenko recorded back-to-back four-point games Feb. 28 vs. Coachella Valley (2-2=4) and March 1 vs. Bakersfield (1-3=4), the first player in Gulls AHL history to record consecutive four-point performances.
Acquired from Minnesota with Andrej Sustr and a 2025 fourth-round selection for John Klingberg March 3, 2023, Nesterenko has scored 29-48=71 points with a +8 rating and 72 PIM in 118 career AHL games. In 93 career NCAA games with Boston College from 2020-23, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native collected 28-49=77 points with a +25 rating and 86 PIM.
