Fernando Pisani now works for the Canadian

It’s not often that NHL teams announce with great fanfare that they’ve hired a scout. Unless he’s a legend of the organization or has a fairly important role (Director of Recruiting, for example), the announcements often go unnoticed.

It was almost by chance that we learned that Teddy Purcell had joined the Canadiens as a scout.

Again this year, the Habs haven’t publicly announced that they’ve hired people from their scouting staff… but they have.

If you look on the team’s official website, you’ll see that Fernando Pisani, a former Oilers player, is now working for the CH as an amateur scout.

We don’t know exactly where he’ll be scouting (it’s not specified), but since he’s based in Edmonton, we can assume he’ll be working in the area.

The highlight of Pisani’s career was his performance in the 2006 playoffs, when he scored 14 goals in 24 games as the Oilers reached the final. He scored the winning goal in overtime to force a Game 6, but the Oilers lost in seven games to the Hurricanes.

Ulcerative colitis (intestinal disease) and injuries derailed his career, however, and he spent only a few years in the NHL after that. He joined the Blackhawks in the summer of 2010 (after their Stanley Cup conquest and the Kyle Beach incidents) for a single season, his last in the Bettman circuit.

Pisani, on the other hand, kept busy after hanging up his skates. After making his debut with the University of Alberta team, and spending time coaching his two sons’ teams, he joined the Edmonton Oil Kings as a development coach, where he rubbed shoulders with a certain Kaiden Guhle.

Did Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton like what he did with Guhle enough to hire him? One wonders.

Pisani also played alongside Francis Bouillon with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Bouillon is co-director of recruiting, so a link can also be drawn between the two.

He also played with Marc-André Bergeron, who recently left the Trois-Rivières Lions, and with Georges Laraque, who is Michael Pezzetta’s personal trainer. Once again, two other links (albeit somewhat weaker, we agree) with the Montreal organization.

I don’t necessarily see a direct link between Pisani and the big names in field hockey management (Hughes, Gorton, Martin St-Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, among others), but we’re talking about a guy who did a good job with the Oil Kings and still knows a few members of the organization.

And an extra head in the recruiting department is never a bad thing, we agree.

In brief

– Exceptional numbers.

– The mere fact that 160 points seems a more than real possibility demonstrates the extent of McDavid’s talent.

Will Connor McDavid(@cmcdavid97) be the first pick in your #FantasyHockey draft? 🤔

Cc: @NHLFantasy

Read more: https://t.co/9ct4znyhQK pic.twitter.com/60kj9bKuDI

– NHL (@NHL) August 12, 2023

– Let’s hope his numbers in New York are more like those he posted with Vegas.

– A startling statistic. My text on the subject.

– A beautiful moment in the NFL.