Senators select forward Shane Pinto 32nd overall
The centre is committed to University of North Dakota for the fall
The Ottawa Senators opened up the second round of the NHL draft by picking forward Shane Pinto 32nd overall. The 6’2”, 192-lb centre split time between the Lincoln Stars and Tri-City Storm of the USHL this past season, totalling 59 points in 56 regular season games, and nine points in six playoff games. He’s committed to University of North Dakota for the fall. Four UND forwards signed pro contracts this past season, so he should have a chance to succeed on a team that’s won a championship as recently as 2016.
The scouting reports on Pinto say he’s primarily a shooter, with both a good wrist shot and a solid one-timer. He’s a strong skater who’s not easily knocked off stride, and is also a good creative passer. The biggest knock on him is that he’s not very good at using his size to retrieve the puck, but most young forwards struggle with defensive responsibility.
Colin had projected Pinto to go 60th overall, making this pick a bit of a reach. The highest anyone had him going was Elite Prospects, who had him at 38th overall. Maybe the Sens really liked what they saw in him, but it stills seems strange to have selected him with both Arthur Kaliyev and Bobby Brink still on the board. Hopefully the Sens’ scouting staff were smarter than all of the available online resources.
