Rich Pilon
 |
| Rich Pilon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 30, 1968 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New York Islanders New York Rangers St. Louis Blues | ||
| NHL draft |
143rd overall, 1986 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1988–2001 | ||
Richard Brian Pilon (born April 30, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Métis heritage.[1] He was drafted 143rd overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Playing as a defenceman, Pilon played for the Islanders, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues during his 15-year NHL career. He is the former coach of the Weyburn Red Wings of The SJHL.
Playing career
[edit]Pilon was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He made his debut in the 1988–89 season, playing 62 games, recording 14 assists and 242 penalty minutes for the New York Islanders as a left shooting defenseman. He would play 10 seasons for the Islanders before being put on waivers by the team. He was then picked up on December 1, 1999, by the New York Rangers. Due to injury, he played parts of two seasons for the Rangers, before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for a seventh round draft pick, days before he became an unrestricted free agent in 2001. He was then signed by the St. Louis Blues on July 10, 2001. He played eight games for the Blues before he suffered a broken left wrist in a game against the Rangers that subsequently ended his NHL career.
The Kevin Stevens incident
[edit]On May 14, 1993, game seven of the Patrick Division finals between the New York Islanders and the favored defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins saw not only one of the greatest upsets in NHL playoff history (with Islanders' overtime goal by David Volek), but one of the worst freak accidents to ever occur on the ice.[2]
Early in the first period, the puck went into the Islanders' corner. The Penguins' star power forward, Kevin Stevens, skated in hard and attempted to hit Pilon who was battling for the puck, but instead was met by Pilon's visor which knocked Stevens unconscious in mid-air. The unprotected fall left Stevens to smash his face on the ice upon impact.[3] Stevens lay motionless on the ice for several seconds, a pool of blood forming around his head, before the team trainer attended to him. Stevens was carted off the ice in a stretcher with a neck brace. He required immediate surgery on his crushed face to repair injuries that ended up being a broken sinus bone and nose, as well as many facial lacerations and bruises. Stevens' face required over one-hundred stitches that left him unrecognizable, even to his own family, for the next few weeks until the swelling went down.[4] Fortunately for Stevens, the injury did not end his career, and he played 10 more seasons in the NHL.
PPG Paints Arena statue
[edit]Pilon and Jeff Norton are depicted as the two defenders Mario Lemieux skates between in a 4,700-pound bronze statue unveiled on March 7, 2012, at PPG Paints Arena (then called Consol Energy Center) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[5]
Personal life
[edit]Pilon was born in Saskatoon, but grew up in St. Louis, Saskatchewan. His son Garrett was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the third round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[6]
Pilon currently resides in Saskatoon with his wife and two children where he works with a uranium mining company. After battling drugs and alcohol over the course of his career, Pilon has been sober for several years and volunteers in a program that uses hockey to encourage children ages eight to 14 to avoid substance abuse.[7]
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985-86 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1986–87 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 68 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 192 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 1987–88 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 65 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 177 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 38 | ||
| 1988-89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 62 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 272 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Islanders | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | New York Islanders | NHL | 60 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | New York Islanders | NHL | 65 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 183 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Islanders | NHL | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 194 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||
| 1992–93 | Capital District Islanders | AHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | New York Islanders | NHL | 28 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 27 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New York Islanders | NHL | 52 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 179 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 291 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | New York Islanders | NHL | 52 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | New York Islanders | NHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | New York Rangers | NHL | 45 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 175 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 631 | 8 | 69 | 77 | 1745 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||||
Awards
[edit]- WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1988
References
[edit]- ^ "EMJ Marketing - Rich Pilon". Archived from the original on 2015-11-22.
- ^ Myers, Alison. "The Scariest In-Game Accidents in Hockey History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ Shaffer, Ryan (2015-05-18). "Penguins Forward Kevin Stevens: What Could Have Been?". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ Frey, Jennifer (30 September 1993). "HOCKEY; Stevens Has New Face For Brand New Season". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ "Mario Lemieux statue unveiled in Pittsburgh", USA Today. March 7, 2012.
- ^ Isabelle Khurshudyan (June 29, 2016). "Son of former NHL tough guy, Caps draft pick Garrett Pilon plays a different style". Washington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "The Two Other Guys in that Magnificent Tribute", The Sports Network. March 7, 2012.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Hockey Goon Profile
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey defencemen
- Capital District Islanders players
- Métis sportspeople
- New York Islanders draft picks
- New York Islanders players
- New York Rangers players
- Prince Albert Raiders players
- St. Louis Blues players
- Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players
- Ice hockey people from Saskatoon