Shane Pinto (born November 12, 2000) is an American professional

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 hock ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was drafted 32nd overall by the Senators, the first pick in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life

Pinto was born on November 12, 2000, in

Franklin Square, New York Franklin Square is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States. The hamlet is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 29,320 at the 2010 census. The area was originally known ...

, U.S. to parents Frank and Catherine. He was born into an athletic family as his father played baseball growing up while his mother and sister played softball. His older sister Brianna captained the

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

women's softball team as an undergraduate and continued playing while completing her master's degree. Though a Native New Yorker, Pinto grew up a Pittsburgh Penguins fan.

Playing career

Amateur

Growing up in New York, Pinto played baseball and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

before beginning organized ice hockey at the age of seven. Upon beginning skating, Pinto spent nearly his entire minor hockey career with the Tier 2 Brooklyn Aviators. At the age of 12, he helped lead the Aviators to a state championship and then played a year above his age group before suffering a collarbone injury. Pinto originally desired to pursue a professional career in baseball before beginning his prep school career at the age of 15. After a productive 16U season with the Aviators, Pinto described his 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons as the most important to his development. After the 2016–17 season, Pinto was drafted in the 21st round, 330th overall, by the

Lincoln Stars The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. History ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). He then joined the USHL for the 2018-2019 regular season where he quickly began producing for the Stars. Through his first 30 games in the league, Pinto tallied 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points while also leading all rookies with 6 power-play goals. In January 2019, Pinto was traded to the

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and G ...

in exchange for Michael Colella, a 2019 3rd Round Phase II draft pick, a 2020 2nd Round Phase II draft pick, and future considerations. Pinto was named to the USHL all-rookie team in 2019 after leading all first-year players with 59 points in 59 games.

Collegiate

Pinto committed to playing the 2019–20 season with the

North Dakota Fighting Hawks The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (formerly known as the Fighting Sioux) are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Originally in the Division II North Central Con ...

and was considered the top recruit for that year's incoming freshman class. During his first development camp with the

, Pinto impressed scouts with his play, and after completing his sophomore season with the Fighting Hawks, Pinto concluded his collegiate career by signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on April 1, 2021.

Career

After undergoing the mandatory quarantining period, Pinto made his NHL debut late in the 2020–21 season and scored his first goal on May 5, 2021, against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He finished the season tallying one goal and six assists. Pinto later participated in rookie camp a few months later in September, where he was appointed team captain for one game. Pinto missed nearly the entire 2021-2022 season due to injuries. During his fourth game of the year, he was hit into the boards by Mario Ferraro and left with a shoulder injury. He attempted to return nine games later against the Penguins but reinjured the same shoulder while taking a faceoff. He ended up having surgery and missed the rest of the year. Pinto recovered on time to start the 2022-2023 season and got off to a hot start. In October he was named the NHL's rookie of the month after scoring six goals in eight games.

International play

Pinto was named to the

United States men's national junior ice hockey team The United States men's national junior ice hockey team represents the United States at the IIHF World U20 Championship. The team has won 5 world junior championships (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). Many talented NHL prospects, such as John Ca ...

for the

2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2020 Ice Hockey World Junior Championships (''2020 WJC'') was the 44th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 26, 2019, and ended with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2020. Canada defeated Ru ...

. Pinto enjoyed early success for the team, being named the player of the game for the opening game of the tournament against

Canada men's national junior ice hockey team The Canadian men's national under-20 ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally in under-20 competition. Their primary participation in this age group comes at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Juni ...

after scoring two goals and netting an assist.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Shane 2000 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Lincoln Stars players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators draft picks Ottawa Senators players Tri-City Storm players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans