Can Shane Pinto Secure a Spot on Team USA's Olympic Roster?

For the first time since 2014, NHL players will participate in the Olympics, taking place in February. For the Ottawa Senators, there are a few obvious names that will represent their countries. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle have already been named to their teams. Jake Sanderson should make Team USA. Linus Ullmark will have a good chance at making Sweden’s team. Nikolas Matinpalo will be in the conversation to make Finland’s team. Perhaps the most intriguing will he or won’t he situation involves Shane Pinto. Fresh off signing a four year extension, Pinto is playing the best hockey of his career this season. So, should he be included on Team USA? Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Life Without Brady Tkachuk, by the Numbers

Pinto by the Numbers

Here’s a look at Pinto’s numbers this season:

• 25 games, 12 goals, 18 points

Among American forwards, he ranks tied for 8th in goals and tied for 20th in points. Here are a few other notable Pinto stats:

• 19:31 time on ice/game, 2:27 shorthanded ice-time/game, 54.2 face-off win%, 16 even strength points, 40% defensive zone starts, 20% offensive zone starts

Essentially, Pinto has put up solid offensive numbers while playing a defensive role. Also, he helped USA win gold at the World Championships in the summer, scoring 2 goals and 10 points in 8 games.

Addressing the Competition

Here were the forwards USA took to last winter’s 4 Nations Face-Off:

• Matt Boldy, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Jake Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Chris Kreider, Dylan Larkin, Auston Matthews, J.T. Miller, Brock Nelson, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Vincent Trocheck

Here were the additional forwards invited to Team USA’s Orientation Camp at the end of August:

• Cole Caufield, Logan Cooley, Conor Garland, Patrick Kane, Clayton Keller, Matthew Knies, Frank Nazar, Shane Pinto, Jason Robertson, Bryan Rust, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch

Of the 13 forwards brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off, most will be back on the USA Olympic Team. Here are the guys that might be in question:

• Kreider, Miller, Nelson, Trocheck

Teams will bring 14 forwards. If the others mentioned above from the 4 Nations Face-Off are essentially locks for the team, that leaves five spots for about 16 or so forwards to fight for.

Positional Consideration

Pinto is best suited to compete for the fourth line centre spot. The following guys are his competition:

• Larkin: 26 games, 14 goals, 29 points

• Thompson: 25 games, 12 goals, 21 points

• Miller: 25 games, 7 goals, 14 points

• Trocheck: 13 games, 5 goals, 11 points

• Nelson: 25 games, 8 goals, 16 points

Larkin will be on the team, it’s just a matter of if he’s the fourth line centre (behind Eichel, Matthews, and Hughes), or if the Americans move one of those guys to the wing on the top three lines. Thompson should get heavy consideration as well. As for the others, Pinto has a strong case to be taken over any of them, especially with his two way ability. Could Pinto play as a depth winger if asked to? Undoubtedly. It’s a much easier move from centre to wing than vice versa.

Final Thoughts

Partway through last December, Shane Pinto figured things out. Since that time, he has scored 32 goals in 75 games. He leads the Senators and is tied for ninth amongst American forwards in goals during that time. That’s while playing a strong defensive game. He was asked to take on the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner line during the playoffs. He then went and played a great two way game to help the Americans win the World Championships.

Of the players listed above, many are more gifted offensively than Pinto. There are flashier players, and players with more creativity. The Americans have a type, though. Bill Guerin, their General Manager, wants a big, strong, two-way team. Pinto fits that identity to a tee. He would be a solid defensive forward on this team. The competition is stiff, but Pinto deserves to be in the conversation. Don’t be surprised to hear his name called in early January as a member of the USA Olympic hockey team.

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