Top 10 Unsung Heroes: Fernando Pisani (3)

6 years ago

For eight weeks during the spring of 2006, the Edmonton Oilers treated their fans to a roller-coaster ride in the NHL playoffs that took them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a thrill that the faithful in Edmonton hadn’t experienced since 1990, when the Oilers sipped from the Cup for a fifth time. For unheralded Fernando Pisani, those were the best eight weeks of this career. They still are.

It’s not Pisani’s playoff-leading 14 goals, including his five game-winners, that puts him at No. 3 on this Top 10 Unsung Heroes list. Had there been a civic election that summer, Fernando might have won had he run for mayor. Likewise, the unforgettable run landed Pisani a four-year contract worth $10 million, so that remarkable stretch made him both rich and famous. The unsung part? Well, let’s talk about what it took to get Pisani to that big stage in 2006 in the first place and the struggles he endured after it.

Fernando Pisani

Right Wing — shoots L
Born Dec 27 1976 — Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.01 — Weight 205 [185 cm/93 kg]

Drafted by Edmonton Oilers

Round 8 #195 overall 1996 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TOI	ATOI
2002-03	26	EDM	35	8	5	13	9	10	32	25.0	375	10:43
2003-04	27	EDM	76	16	14	30	14	46	99	16.2	971	12:46
2005-06	29	EDM	80	18	19	37	5	42	131	13.7	1108	13:51
2006-07	30	EDM	77	14	14	28	-1	40	142	9.9	1301	16:54
2007-08	31	EDM	56	13	9	22	-5	28	96	13.5	926	16:32
2008-09	32	EDM	38	7	8	15	-1	14	72	9.7	582	15:19
2009-10	33	EDM	40	4	4	8	-16	10	54	7.4	583	14:35
2010-11	34	CHI	60	7	9	16	0	10	72	9.7	754	12:34
7 yrs		EDM	402	80	73	153	5	190	626	12.8	5846	14:32
1 yr		CHI	60	7	9	16	0	10	72	9.7	754	12:34
Career			462	87	82	169	5	200	698	12.5	6600	14:17

PLAYOFFS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TOI	ATOI
2002-03	26	EDM	6	1	0	1	-2	2	8	12.5	83	13:48
2005-06	29	EDM	24	14	4	18	4	10	49	28.6	413	17:12
2010-11	34	CHI	3	0	0	0	-1	0	3	0.0	24	7:55
Career			33	15	4	19	1	12	60	25.0	519	15:44

WHY HE MAKES IT

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Pisani was pretty much the most celebrated Oiler player in a city that was turned on its ear that spring by series wins over Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim before that date with the Hurricanes – a series that produced his unforgettable shorthanded goal in overtime of Game 5 to send the series back to Rexall Place. That was a highlight that was years in the making for Pisani, who didn’t even make it to the NHL until two weeks past his 27^th birthday — in a game against Anaheim Jan. 8, 2003.

Pisani spent three seasons in the AJHL before the Oilers took a chance on him with the 195^th overall pick in the 1996 Entry Draft after he’d put up 103 points with the St. Albert Saints. Getting even a sniff of the NHL – even one game — when you’re selected that late is a longshot at best, but it’s a shot Pisani made good on by travelling a long and winding road to beat the odds and eventually make it to the spring of 2006.

He left home and spent four seasons, a total of 147 games, playing with Providence College of Hockey East. Then, came parts of three seasons and 172 games in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Pisani had parts of just two seasons in with the Oilers when the NHL lockout sent him to Europe for stints in Switzerland and Italy in 2004-05. He’d already ridden the buses and taken the short pay in the minors at that point. He could have walked away and called it good. Then came the 2005-06 season, when he scored 18 goals and had 37 points as the Oilers snuck into the playoffs…

THE FINE PRINT

I watched Pisani work his butt off to elevate his game back in those days when he was trying to break in. Yes, that’s part of being a pro. Pisani went well beyond that with extra skating and extra drills. Never once that I saw did Fernando take his place in that Oiler line-up or in that dressing room for granted. It was as if somebody had cloned Ryan Smyth. The spring of 2006 didn’t just happen for Pisani. His dedication and determination to get better set the stage. Mercy, did he grab the spotlight when the time came.

Then, just like that, a condition known as ulcerative colitis – Pisani was first diagnosed with it in 2005 but it didn’t really progress and hit him hard until 2007 – sent him sideways. Pisani lost 40 pounds. He was weak. Just walking up a flight of stairs took all the energy he had. It became very obvious Pisani needed to take time to get healthy again. He’d play just 38 and 40 games during his final two seasons with the Oilers.

While taking treatment and trying to get healthy enough to continue with his career, Pisani spoke about his condition to various groups. In 2008, Pisani’s battle with and comeback from ulcerative colitis made him a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. Pisani closed out his career by playing 60 games with Chicago in 2010-11. He never did regain the lightning in a bottle he’d captured in the spring of 2006, but it’s the road he took to get there in the first place and the grace and grit he showed at the end of his career that’s the real story.

This series of various Top 10 lists will focus on the post-1990 Oilers – the players who haven’t played on a Stanley Cup winner in Edmonton.

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