The 20-year-old blue liner signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Hurricanes last week after his junior season at the University of New Hampshire came to an end. Carolina selected Pesce, who GM Ron Francis described in a release as “a big, puck-moving defenseman,” in the third round of the 2013 draft. With his college career over, he joined the Checkers to get that first glimpse of the AHL.
In his week practicing with the Checkers, Pesce noticed the differences immediately.
“Obviously it’s a little faster and the transition from college to pro is something you have to get used to, but I feel like I’m getting my game back every day,” said Pesce.
Pesce doesn’t have to look far to find an example of someone who took the same route as he did. Fellow defenseman Dennis Robertson is currently in his rookie campaign after completing a four-year college career, and has helped guide Pesce early on.
“I met Robertson at summer camp so we’ve become friends,” said Pesce. “We’ve just been talking about college and the transition to the speed and physicality of pro. He just told me to keep it simple and to play my game. At the end of the day, it’s just another hockey game.”
“The execution level,” said Robertson. “Here everybody is zipping passes on the tape and playing hard. The overall pace of the game is much higher.”
The 23-year-old Robertson points to another aspect as the most crucial transition that a college player like himself and Pesce have to adjust to.
“The biggest thing is the amount of games you play,” said Robertson. “In college you play 30-some-odd games a year and you only play on weekends. This last month where we’ve been playing every other day almost, it’s been a new experience. It definitely takes a while to adjust your body to playing that much.”
With a career-high of 41 games played in a season, the length of the campaign will certainly be a hurdle for Pesce going into next season, but during his week with the team, he had a more positive eye-opening takeaway.
“Probably how much extra work everyone does, before and after practice,” said Pesce. “You don’t get that in college, so it’s pretty cool that the coaches work on your individual skills with you.”
With Carolina coaches Glen Wesley and Cory Stillman joining Jeff Daniels and Geordie Kinnear on the ice for most of the practices this week, there has been no shortage of input for the young defenseman. Drawing from his own experience, Robertson stressed the importance of absorbing as much knowledge and advice as you can from them while they’re down here.
“Just to be a sponge,” said Robertson. “The more you can learn now, you don’t have to catch up next year when you’re trying to make the team. The coaching staff does a good job of going out of their way to help those guys out even though they might not be playing, just preparing them.”
While Robertson spent more time sitting and observing during his stint, Pesce is expected to be thrown right out into action. Despite that jump in levels, Pesce seems confident in his ability to step in and make an impact for the Checkers.
“I’m pretty solid at both ends,” said Pesce. “I can play on the power play and I also can kill. Hopefully I can just bring a presence with my stick and break up some plays. Hopefully tonight I can play my game and have a good one and get the win.”
Regardless of how much action he sees and how he performs, Robertson believes that this stint in the AHL will be beneficial for Pesce’s progress. As he witnessed first-hand, it can be a huge boost going forward.
“You get to adjust and see the pace of guys at practice,” said Robertson. “It really allows you to come in the next year and be more prepared. It’s great to see those guys out here and playing well too.”
