It has been two decades since Edmonton Oilers winger Fernando Pisani was the talk of the town, celebrated in Little Italy as his playoff goals propelled the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. Now, another Pisani is making his mark in the postseason.
Fernando's son, Jaxon Pisani, who turned 17 in late March, is a rookie defenseman for the Everett Silvertips. The Silvertips recently captured the WHL championship and are set to compete in the Memorial Cup alongside the host Kelowna Rockets, Kitchener Rangers, and Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
"It's been a blast for Jaxon. A great way to spend your first year. I told him, 'Just so you know, this doesn't happen all the time,'" said Fernando, who coached Jaxon through minor hockey in St. Albert before handing him off to Steve Hamilton, son of former Oiler Al Hamilton. Hamilton led the Silvertips to a dominant 57-8-3 regular-season record.
Jaxon acknowledged the unique opportunity, saying, "Yeah, guys on my team, guys who've played four years in this league, are telling me how lucky I am … to be part of a good team, so young."
The rookie played 48 league games and stepped into the playoff lineup when Tarin Smith, an Anaheim Ducks third-round pick in 2024, suffered a suspected shoulder or collarbone injury in Game 4 of the first-round series against Portland. Pisani filled in effectively as Everett went 16-2 in the postseason, defeating the strong Prince Albert Raiders in five games in the WHL final.
Fernando drew parallels to his own career: "As the playoffs started he was the young guy and they were going to go with the more experienced group, and then Smith got hurt and Jax got rewarded … obviously you don't want to see anybody get hurt but as I said to him if you look at my Oiler career, (Mike) Comrie got hurt and they called somebody up, and that was my window."
Jaxon expressed mixed feelings about the opportunity. "It sucks seeing Tarin out but it gave me a huge step. I'm playing for him," he said.
Hamilton will miss Smith, a nominee for WHL defenseman of the year who ranked second on the Silvertips in shots after Landon DuPont. However, he was pleased to give Jaxon his chance. "Jaxon's improved so much over the year. Good puck mover and he's become a very reliable third pair guy now with high potential," Hamilton said.
Jaxon praised his coach: "Steve's great. He's honest and he knows what he's doing. He won a Memorial Cup himself. He knows what this tournament is all about, how much fun it is."
Jaxon, who played forward until age nine before switching to defense, put up strong numbers as a 15-year-old in U18 competition in St. Albert, quarterbacking the power play. However, with phenom DuPont, the likely 2027 first-overall NHL pick who had 73 points this season, and 2026 NHL draft eligible Brett Liske, Everett has plenty of offensive talent on the blue line. Smith was also an offensive contributor.
