Shane Pinto, the pride of Franklin Station, N.Y., is thriving with Senators

Shane Pinto, the pride of Franklin Station, N.Y., is thriving with the Ottawa Senators. (André Ringuette/Getty Images)

After missing almost all of last season due to injury, Shane Pinto (Franklin Station, N.Y.) quickly started to make up for lost time this season.

The Ottawa Senators forward, limited to just five games in 2021-22 with shoulder woes, was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after tallying six goals and adding an assist in an eight-game span, while scoring on almost 43 percent of his shots on goal.

There didn’t appear to be any commemorative plaque or other physical award on the way to Ontario any time soon, though.

“No, not that I know of,” chuckled Pinto, 22. “There’s nothing in the mail yet. It was especially cool for my family, my being recognized.

“Now I’m just worried about the rest of the season.”

It was quite a start for someone who just got back to playing in actual NHL games, after being relegated to the sidelines for several months to rehabilitate.

“The fact he’s filling the net the way he is drew attention to him,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith told the Ottawa Sun. “In saying that, for a young guy to come in and do that after a year off is certainly impressive. We think we clearly have a good one here in Shane.”

It comes after a long, sometimes lonely year.

“Obviously last year, I never had it taken away like that, just playing every day,” recalled Pinto. “I love hockey so much, and now I know it can get taken away from you at any moment. You learn the best you can from it and move forward.”

Despite not being able to skate alongside his teammates for the majority of the campaign, he focused on his recovery as he labored to eventually get back in the lineup.

“Obviously, some points of rehab were tough,” he said. “You set goals for yourself — skating again, shooting pucks again. It helps get you through.

“It took a long time after the surgery, but time does fly. Sometimes it felt like forever, but you set goals and have something to work toward.”

He came back with a flourish, as he registered 8-1—9 points through his first 17 games. Through 40 games, he had upped that to 10-7—17 totals.

With just five NHL contests under his belt last season, and only a dozen the year before after leaving college, Pinto remains eligible for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top rookie. He was among the top three rookie scorers in the league in mid-November and was tied with longtime teammate Jake Sanderson.

Pinto got his start in youth hockey with the Long Island Gulls, New York Aviators 16-U and Selects Academy 16-U and 18-U squads, before moving on to South Kent School and then junior hockey. After splitting the 2018-19 USHL season between the Lincoln Stars and Tri-City Storm, where he recorded 28 goals and 59 points in 56 outings, Pinto decided to remain in the Midwest for college and accepted a scholarship to perennial NCAA powerhouse North Dakota, where he studied kinesiology.

“I visited (UND) my senior year of high school, and for me there was no place I’d rather go,” he explained. “It’s a mecca of hockey, and I fell in love with it. I wanted to play in the NHL, and it was the best spot for me and the main reason I went there.”

Pinto spent two seasons in Grand Forks and helped the Fighting Hawks to a pair of NCAA tournament berths, even though the first one in 2020 was canceled by COVID-19. He finished with 31-29-60 points in 61 games total at UND, including 12 power-play goals and a plus-38 rating. He also represented the U.S. at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Czechia, notching 4-3-7 points in five outings.

After a marathon five-overtime setback to Minnesota-Duluth in a 2021 NCAA regional final that ended his sophomore season, a game in which he had two assists, Pinto decided it was time to close his college career, after being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the NCHC Player of the Year. Drafted 32nd overall by the Senators in 2019, he made the jump directly from the NCAA to the NHL, without any minor-league seasoning.

“For me, UND did such a good job teaching me the right way to play. It helped me to go pro and make the transition seamless,” he said, while also thanking UND head coach Brad Berry and associate coach Dane Jackson. “They prepared me for it, and a lot of credit goes to UND.

“The transition was pretty good, although it was still tough and a lot of hard work. You learn from the older guys, and I continue to do that.”

He finished his brief introduction with Ottawa by scoring one goal and setting up six others that spring.

As of part a youthful Senators core that included Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris up front, plus Sanderson on defense, Pinto is seeking to help Ottawa return to postseason play, even as questions of franchise ownership and a possible new arena swirl.

His former collegiate head coach believes Pinto is poised for professional success, along with Sanderson.

“I watch every single game. They’re a couple of high-end players who added to our tradition in their short amount of time here,” Berry told The Athletic. “It’s great to see them have such early success. We feel grateful that we had a chance to be a small part of their life. They’ve got a great future ahead of them.”

Pinto was listed in the North Dakota media guide as the first-ever UND player from the state of New York. He might have started a trend in Grand Forks, as this year’s roster includes blueliner Ryan Sidorski of Williamsville, N.Y., a grad student who previously played at Union College.

Teammates at UND, Pinto and Montana-born Sanderson are now both teammates and roommates in Ottawa.

“We were very close at UND, and it still feels like we’re in college,” said Pinto. “He’s one of my best buds, and to have him here is awesome. It’s a cool experience, and it’s good to have him here.”

The goal for all the Senators this year is qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017, when Ottawa fell in double overtime of Game 7 of the conference finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sens haven’t been back since, and their roster is decidedly different more than five years later.

On Jan. 12, Ottawa’s 39 points trailed the final wild-card spot by nine.

“We do have the guys for it (making the playoffs), and have confidence,” Pinto said, “and it’s definitely our main goal.”

If so, it will mark another step in Pinto’s journey from his Long Island home to hockey’s top league, a voyage he initially wasn’t sure he would take.

“I remember when I was young, I played baseball and football, and one day my dad said, ‘Let’s try hockey’,” said Pinto. “I kind of hated it — my back hurt, and I was not a great skater.”

He stuck with it, though, and by his mid-teens began to put it all together.

“It turned around when I was 15, at prep school in Connecticut,” he explained. “I took it seriously, and it took off and worked out.”