Garrett Pilon

Garrett Pilon (born April 13, 1998) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey centre for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League. He was drafted 87th overall, in the third round of the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Washington Capitals.

Playing career Amateur Pilon played midget junior hockey with Saskatoon Contacts of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. He was selected by the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the seventh round of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. He joined the Blazers ahead of the 2015–16 season and in 71 games, tallied 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in his rookie campaign. The Blazers advanced to the playoffs where they faced the Kelowna Rockets in the opening round. The Rockets eliminated the Blazers in the best-of-seven series, with Pilon playing in all seven games, scoring twice and recording three points. In his second season in the WHL in 2016–17, he improved his scoring, marking 20 goals and 65 points in 67 games. In his third season with Kamloops in 2017–18, he posted 18 goals and 44 points in 39 games. He spent the rest of the season with the Silvertips, recording 16 goals and 36 points in 30 games. Ultimately, the Silvertips fell to the Broncos and in 22 playoff games, Pilon added 11 goals and 18 points. He was named the WHL player of the month for April 2018.

Professional Pilon was selected 87th overall by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the third round of the 2016 NHL entry draft. On March 30, 2017, Pilon signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears. At the end of the 2017 WHL playoffs, Pilon joined the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate on an amateur tryout during their Calder Cup playoff run and appeared in one game, going scoreless. He was assigned to the Bears at the beginning of the 2018–19 season. In his rookie AHL campaign, he scored ten goals and 33 points in 71 games and was named the team's rookie of the year. The Bears made the playoffs and advanced to the Atlantic Division finals where they were knocked out by the Charlotte Checkers. In nine playoff games he marked five assists.

In the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Pilon scored four goals and 12 assists over 14 games with Hershey. In the offseason Pilon re-signed with the Capitals to a two-year contract. On November 21, he was returned to Hershey having appeared in two games. He finished the season in the AHL, recording 17 goals and 42 points in 60 games. In his final season with Hershey in 2022–23, he scored 11 goals and 29 points in 53 games. The Bears made the playoffs again and Pilon scored an overtime goal in game five of the 2023 Calder Cup finals (the only goal of the game) to give the Bears a 3–2 series lead against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Bears went on to win their 12th Calder Cup in game seven. In the playoffs, Pilon added four goals and 10 points in 20 games. Pilon attended Ottawa's 2023 training camp, but was placed on waivers on September 30. After going unclaimed, he was assigned to Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to start the 2023–24 season. Pilon played the entire season with Belleville, finishing with 18 goals and a total of 47 points in 62 games. However, Belleville was eliminated in the following round by the Cleveland Monsters. In seven playoff games, he scored three goals and five points. He signed a two-year, two-way deal to stay with Ottawa on July 1, 2024. He was assigned to Belleville after clearing waivers ahead of the 2024–25 season. After the departure of captain Dillon Heatherington in the offseason, on October 8, 2024, Belleville named Pilon the sixth captain in franchise history. In his first season as captain, he appeared in 68 games, scoring 11 goals and 54 points.

An unrestricted free agent at season's end, he signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League on July 1, 2026.

Personal life Pilon was born in Mineola, New York while his father, Rich, played 15 seasons in the NHL, most notably for the New York Islanders. Pilon is married.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2015–16 Kamloops Blazers WHL 71 15 32 47 24 7 2 1 3 0 2016–17 Kamloops Blazers WHL 67 20 45 65 20 6 1 3 4 6 2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Kamloops Blazers WHL 39 18 26 44 34 — — — — — 2017–18 Everett Silvertips WHL 30 16 20 36 14 22 11 17 28 8 2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 71 10 23 33 12 9 0 5 5 0 2019–20 Hershey Bears AHL 61 18 18 36 17 — — — — — 2020–21 Hershey Bears AHL 14 4 12 16 4 — — — — — 2020–21 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Hershey Bears AHL 60 17 25 42 30 3 1 1 2 2 2021–22 Washington Capitals NHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2022–23 Hershey Bears AHL 53 11 18 29 24 20 4 6 10 6 2023–24 Belleville Senators AHL 62 18 29 47 12 7 3 2 5 4 2024–25 Belleville Senators AHL 68 11 37 48 61 — — — — — 2025–26 Belleville Senators AHL 56 8 23 31 8 — — — — —NHL totals 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year AHL Calder Cup 2023