Since Pinto has been in Ottawa, they have had Stutzle/Norris & now Stutzle/Cozens playing 1C & 2C in front of Pinto. In 2022-23, when Norris went down for the season with a shoulder injury, a Pinto basically assumed the 2C position behind Stutzle and did fine.
In this year's playoffs, he played more minutes than any other Sens forward, aside from Stutzle, and did a good job as the shut down centre against Matthews.
He is just 24y/o, he plays a very solid 200-ft game, has size at 6' 3" and doesn't mind the physical side of the game, good on the PK. He does not see much PP and this has affected his point totals.
Most Sens fans believe he can be a solid 2C, with some thinking that he could even potentially develop into 1C. As a fan base, we don't want to see Pinto traded but if things continue as they are behind Stutzle & Cozens, he (and his agent) might feel that he is better elsewhere and he has just one year left on his current RFA contract and his agent is a tough negotiator. On the Sens side, Ridly Greig is currently playing on the wing but could potentially be a very solid 3C for us. With Jensen's injury/surgery and Zub's injury issues, we have a short and long-term need at top-4 RD. This has all led to this current speculation.
All this to say, yes, Pinto can play 2C.
