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<p>Tom Sestito isn&#8217;t motivated by last season.</p><p>He isn&#8217;t out to prove his doubters wrong after his season ended abruptly when the Vancouver Canucks placed him on waivers early in the year. He was assigned to Utica, where he was ultimately sent home in February after appearing in 10 games.</p><p>Sestito, 28, could be bitter, but he isn&#8217;t. Rather than dwelling on the disappointment of last season, Sestito is looking ahead to his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and working his way back to the NHL.</p><p>&#8220;It was my time to get out of Vancouver. That happens to a lot of players,&#8221; Sestito said. &#8220;I think the media blew my situation up and I&#8217;m just getting ready to play hockey again.&#8221;</p><p>Ironically, Sestito stands to benefit from a fellow Vancouver connection. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was Vancouver&#8217;s assistant coach in 2013-14, the same year Sestito spent the entire season in the NHL with the Canucks, leading the league with 213 penalty minutes over 77 games.</p><p>Sestito knows what Sullivan expects, and Sullivan knows what Sestito needs to do to go up to Pittsburgh.</p><p>&#8220;I think Tommy has been committed to do what it takes to get to the next level,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;He&#8217;s at a little bit of a crossroads in his career and he&#8217;s trying to get it moving in the right direction, and it has to start with his fitness level and commitment both on and off the ice. He knows that. He and I had that conversation numerous times, starting in Vancouver.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to push him as hard as I can to help him through that process.&#8221;</p><p>At 6-foot-5, 228 pounds, Sestito is an intimidating force on the ice. He has racked up healthy penalty minute totals at every stop of his career. But that&#8217;s not all.</p><p>Sullivan said Sestito has good hands and the ability to make plays, and that is evident by some of the point totals he has posted. In 2010-11, Sestito recorded 11 goals and 32 points in 46 games with Springfield to go along with 192 penalty minutes. He scored 17 points in 34 games with Adirondack the following season, and chipped in two goals in seven games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012-13.</p><p>Now Sestito finds himself with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a tryout deal, hoping to rebuild his game and get back to the NHL.</p><p>&#8220;The conversations I had with the brass up top, I&#8217;m going to be here for a while working on my game and hopefully I get back with Pittsburgh,&#8221; Sestito said.</p><p>While Sestito is here, he said the transition will be an easy one because he faced Wilkes-Barre/Scranton numerous times as a member of the Syracuse Crunch. This year&#8217;s Penguins team, he said, is a solid squad that should compete for a division title and more.</p><p>Sestito said the Penguins should also be able to handle his former team, Utica, which won the Western Conference last season before losing in the Calder Cup Finals to Manchester.</p><p>&#8220;I think this team will really play Utica hard, and I don&#8217;t think they can beat us in this building or on the road,&#8221; Sestito said.</p><p>The Penguins play Utica at home on Jan. 9 and on the road Feb. 9.</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>&#8226; Oskar Sundqvist, who was recalled by Pittsburgh on Tuesday in a salary cap move, didn&#8217;t practice with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. Sullivan said it wasn&#8217;t allowed per league rules, but he did say Sundqvist would be available for the season opener on Oct. 9.</p><p>&#8226; F Tyler Biggs didn&#8217;t practice Wednesday and is day-to-day with an upper body injury, Sullivan said.</p><p>&#8226; In net, rookie Tristan Jarry will see his share of playing time behind Matt Murray, according to Sullivan.</p><p>&#8220;Matt has earned that number one position at this point, but both goalies will get time,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8226; While Tom Kostopoulos has been named captain, Sullivan said he will rotate alternate captains for the first few weeks until he gets to know his players better.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins winger Tom Sestito is hoping to rebuild his career to get back to the NHL. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Sestito.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins winger Tom Sestito is hoping to rebuild his career to get back to the NHL. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sestito looking ahead, not back with Penguins