Career
He was drafted 66th overall by the Hurricanes in the 2013 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Pesce played his amateur youth hockey within New Jersey, eventually playing with the New Jersey Hitmen of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. He committed to play collegiate hockey with the University of New Hampshire of the Hockey East.
After his freshman season with the Wildcats, Pesce was selected by the Hurricanes as a third round selection in the 2013 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
In his sophomore season in 2013-2014, Pesce set a personal best 7 goals and 21 points in 41 games with New Hampshire. In his junior season, Pesce ranked second amongst Wildcats on the blueline in scoring with 16 points in 31 games.
Having played 109 games with the Wildcats, Pesce opted to forgo his final year of eligibility signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on March 27, 2015. He was signed to an amateur try-out contract with Hurricanes AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, and made his professional debut on April 2, 2015, against the Oklahoma City Barons.
He appeared in the Checkers final four homes games to conclude the 2014-2015 regular season.
After attending the Hurricanes 2015 training camp, Pesce was re-assigned to begin his rookie 2015-2016 season with the Checkers. Pesce was returned to the Checkers, however during his second recall to the Hurricanes made his National Hockey League debut in a 5-2 defeat against the San Jose Sharks on October 24, 2015.