Richard Brian Pilon (born April 30, 1968) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
player of
Métis heritage. He was drafted 143rd overall in the
1986 NHL Entry Draft
The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...
by the
New York Islanders. Playing as a
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
, Pilon played for the Islanders,
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
and
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
during his 15-year NHL career. He is the former coach of the
Weyburn Red Wings
The Weyburn Red Wings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Crescent Point Place, which has a seating capacity of 1,750. ...
of The
SJHL
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
Open to North American-born players 20 years ...
.
Playing career
Pilon was born in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. He made his debut in the
1988–89 season, playing 62 games, recording 14 assists and 242 penalty minutes for the New York Islanders as a left shooting defenseman. He would play 10 seasons for the Islanders before being put on waivers by the team. He was then picked up on December 1, 1999, by the New York Rangers. Due to injury, he played parts of two seasons for the Rangers, before he was traded to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
for a seventh round draft pick, days before he became an unrestricted free agent in 2001. He was then signed by the St. Louis Blues on July 10, 2001. He played eight games for the Blues before he suffered a broken left wrist in a game against the Rangers that subsequently ended his NHL career.
The Kevin Stevens incident
On May 14, 1993, game seven of the Patrick Division finals between the New York Islanders and the favored defending Stanley Cup champion
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
saw not only one of the greatest upsets in NHL playoff history (with Islanders' overtime goal by
David Volek), but one of the worst freak accidents to ever occur on the ice.
Early in the first period, the puck went into the Islanders' corner. The Penguins' star power forward,
Kevin Stevens
Kevin Stevens (born April 15, 1965) is an American former ice hockey player and current scout in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played left wing on a line with Mario Lemieux during the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup championships in ...
, skated in hard and attempted to hit Pilon who was battling for the puck, but instead was met by Pilon's visor which knocked Stevens unconscious in mid-air. The unprotected fall left Stevens to smash his face on the ice upon impact. Stevens lay motionless on the ice for several seconds, a pool of blood forming around his head, before the team trainer attended to him. Stevens was carted off the ice in a stretcher with a neck brace. He required immediate surgery on his crushed face to repair injuries that ended up being a broken sinus bone and nose, as well as many facial lacerations and bruises. Stevens' face required over one-hundred stitches that left him unrecognizable, even to his own family, for the next few weeks until the swelling went down. Fortunately for Stevens, the injury did not end his career, and he played 10 more seasons in the NHL.
PPG Paints Arena statue
Pilon and
Jeff Norton
Jeffrey Thomas Norton (born November 25, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Norton was selected in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Isla ...
are depicted as the two defenders
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...
skates between in a 4,700-pound bronze statue unveiled on March 7, 2012, at
PPG Paints Arena
PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...
(then called Consol Energy Center) in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
.
Personal life
Pilon was born in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
, but grew up in
St. Louis, Saskatchewan. His son
Garrett was drafted by the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
in the third round of the
2016 NHL Entry Draft
The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...
.
Pilon currently resides in Saskatoon with his wife and two children where he works with a uranium mining company. After battling drugs and alcohol over the course of his career, Pilon has been sober for several years and volunteers in a program that uses hockey to encourage children ages eight to 14 to avoid substance abuse.
"The Two Other Guys in that Magnificent Tribute"
The Sports Network. March 7, 2012.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards
* WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1988
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilon, Rich
1968 births
Living people
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Capital District Islanders players
Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
Métis sportspeople
New York Islanders draft picks
New York Islanders players
New York Rangers players
Prince Albert Raiders players
St. Louis Blues players
Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players
Sportspeople from Saskatoon