Tom Sestito
Tom Sestito | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 28, 1987 Rome, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey forward (retired) |
| Years active | 2008–2019 |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL for Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks; AHL teams including Toronto Marlies |
Tom Sestito (born September 28, 1987) is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. His most recent team was the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL), and he previously competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vancouver Canucks.
Playing career
Selected 85th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Sestito was drafted from the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, where he tallied 42 goals during the 2006–07 campaign.
On March 29, 2007, he inked a three-year entry-level deal with Columbus. After spending time with their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, Sestito made his NHL debut on April 6, 2008, in the final game of the 2007–08 season against the St. Louis Blues.
Sestito netted his inaugural NHL goal on December 15, 2010, against Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on February 28, 2011, in exchange for Greg Moore and Michael Chaput. The Flyers placed him on waivers on September 27, 2011, intending to assign him to their AHL team, the Adirondack Phantoms.
During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Sestito signed a short-term contract with the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. On March 1, 2013, he was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks and later secured a two-year one-way contract valued at US$1.5 million on May 29, 2013.
In his first complete NHL season (2013–14), Sestito led all players with 213 penalty minutes. As enforcers' roles diminished in the NHL, he appeared in only three games for Vancouver during the 2014–15 season before being reassigned to their AHL affiliate Utica Comets. The Canucks eventually released him after ten games with Utica.
Sestito attended Pittsburgh Penguins training camp in August 2015 but did not receive an NHL contract offer. He joined their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a tryout basis and later signed a one-year two-way contract in February 2016. Although part of Pittsburgh’s roster when they won the Stanley Cup in 2017, he did not participate in any playoff games.
Prior to the start of the 2018–19 AHL season, Sestito initially declined an opportunity to continue his professional career to concentrate on family matters but subsequently signed a professional tryout contract with the Toronto Marlies in December 2018 to add physicality to their lineup.
Criticism
Throughout his NHL tenure, Sestito was often criticized and branded as a "talentless thug," with ESPN commentator Keith Olbermann referring to him as a "boxing hobo on skates." The Hockey News labeled him a "goon with limited hockey talents," representing an era of violence that modern hockey seeks to move beyond.
While playing for the Canucks, Sestito attracted attention after accumulating twenty-seven penalty minutes despite officially recording only one second of ice time during a 2014 game against the Los Angeles Kings. Following this incident, Olbermann named him "The Worst Person in the Sports World," declaring that Sestito was "not a hockey player." In response, Sestito’s sister defended his limited ice time earnings and criticized Olbermann via Twitter.
His frequent penalties contributed to an acrimonious departure from Vancouver. The Canucks announced that while he would continue receiving full salary, he would no longer participate in games for either Vancouver or their affiliate Utica Comets. General Manager Jim Benning stressed the importance of players contributing beyond fighting. Subsequently, Sestito took up painting work at a friend’s restaurant located in Rome, New York.
In late 2014, Sestito faced criticism after tweeting support for police actions related to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; these tweets were later removed.
Former NHL player John Scott criticized Sestito’s style of play in 2019, pointing out that Sestito avoided engaging him directly in fights and only participated opportunistically.
Personal life
Sestito's elder sibling, Tim Sestito, concluded his professional career with Dinamo Riga in the Kontinental Hockey League, retiring in September 2017. Additionally, he has a younger sister named Victoria.
Career statistics
Bold signifies league leader
- 2014–15 AHL season;;;
- Utica Comets;
- AHL;
- 10;
- 1;
- 0;
- 1;
- 20;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —
- -
- - |2015–16 AHL season;
- Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins;
- AHL;
- 41;
- 5;
- 9;
- 14;
- 104;
- 7;
- 1;
- 3;
- 4;
- 52;
- 2015–16 NHL season;
- Pittsburgh Penguins;
- NHL;
- 4;
- 0;
- 1;
- 1;
- 19;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —
- -
- - |2016–17 NHL season;
- Pittsburgh Penguins;
- NHL;
- 13;
- 0;
- 2;
- 2;
- 48;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —;
- —
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Syracuse Stars | EmJHL | 17 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 2003–04 | Syracuse Stars | EmJHL | 31 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 137 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 32 | ||||||||||||
| 2004–05 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 35 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 2005–06 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 57 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 176 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 29 | ||||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 60 | 42 | 22 | 64 | 135 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 66 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 202 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2007–08 NHL season | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 2008–09 AHL season | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 52 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 36 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 138 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 2009–10 NHL season | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Springfield Falcons | AHL | 46 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 192 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 2010–11 NHL season | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 2011–12 AHL season | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 2012–13 EIHL season | Sheffield Steelers | Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) | 17 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 2012–13 AHL season | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2013–14 NHL season | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 77 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 213 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| AHL totals | 380 | 66 | 94 | 160 | 1249 | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 122 | ||||||||||||||
| NHL totals | 154 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 499 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
External links
- Ice hockey statistics
- 1987 births
- Living people
- Adirondack Phantoms athletes
- American male ice hockey left wingers
- American individuals of Italian heritage
- Columbus Blue Jackets draft selections
- Columbus Blue Jackets players
- Ice hockey athletes originating from New York (state)
- Athletes from Rome, New York
- Philadelphia Flyers team members
- Pittsburgh Penguins team members
- Plymouth Whalers competitors
- Sheffield Steelers participants
- Sports figures from Utica, New York
- Springfield Falcons competitors
- Syracuse Crunch competitors
- Toronto Marlies competitors
- Utica Comets competitors
- Vancouver Canucks players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins competitors
- Utica Comets players