Pinto's favourite part of the summer was his trip out east to skate with NHL superstars like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
Following a tumultuous campaign that saw him lose half a season to one of the NHL's longest suspensions, Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto is looking to build off a strong second half.
The 23-year-old finished last season with nine goals and 27 points in 41 games. Had Pinto maintained those rates over the course of a full season, his goal output would have approached his regular season career high (20 in 2022-23) while his point total would have represented a new high.
He did this while exhibiting the customary defensive aptitude that made him a well-regarded two-way prospect. HockeyViz's isolated defensive impact data has portrayed Pinto favourably as being a positive player whenever he is on the ice.
When Pinto plays, he helps suppress the volume of shots and expected goals that the opposition generates -- highlighted by the areas of blue in the visual above.
If Pinto can maintain that defensive impact while improving his offensive production, he could be poised to have a breakout season. One obvious area of improvement is his five-on-five goals per 60 rate (G/60). According to NaturalStatTrick's data from the 2023-24 season, Pinto scored at a 0.73 G/60 clip at all strengths. At five-on-five, that number dropped to 0.20 G/60 rate. To put that into perspective, Jacob Bernard-Docker scored at a higher rate (0.24 G/60).
Positive regression in that area coupled with a bridge deal should factor into the likelihood of a much larger extension at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Another interesting wrinkle that could benefit Pinto is that he spent a couple of weeks on the east coast of Canada playing in the highly regarded series of skates where the likes of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand have honed their skills for the past several offseasons.
When Pinto met with the media this week on the first day of training camp, he was asked about his experiences out east.
"Yeah, that was probably my favourite part of the summer, just to learn from, you know, obviously (Drake Batherson) has been with them a few years now, but just to kind of learn some things from Nate (MacKinnon) and (Sidney Crosby), they're some of the best players in the world. So, just to learn some little things and see how they work every day on the ice. It's definitely something I'm going to try to bring into my game and hopefully just continue to grow from that."
When asked what he learned the most from the experience, Pinto pointed to their drive and competitiveness.
"I think it's a summer skate, but they're going like game seven of the Stanley Cup. So, now I think every skate that go out there, I try to work as hard as I can, and try to kind of do what they were doing. And, I think it's just their compete every day. No matter what the skate is, they're always competing. So I think that's the main thing."
Pinto elaborated on how he plans on trying to mirror their drive and implementing that level of commitment into his daily routine.
"Yeah, I think it's huge. I think Sid's won everything, even Nathan. I think he's won a lot in this league. It just shows you every summer they're hungry. We've done nothing in this league yet as a team. I think it just shows that we have to work harder and just be more committed each summer to come back ready to go. So, if those guys are doing it, we definitely have to do it."
A more driven Pinto, if he also happens to enjoy some better luck, should be poised for a career season. Given the concerns with Josh Norris' surgically repaired shoulder and the organization's playoff aspirations, Pinto's contributions will play a significant insulating role.