Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson shake off the rust — and nerves — in their return to action

BUFFALO, N.Y.—On Thursday afternoon, Shane Pinto was holding court with the media in Ottawa.

And the young centreman had no problem throwing some light jabs towards his teammate Jake Sanderson.

“When he comes to the rink, he’s mature. But when he’s off the ice, he’s a clown,” Pinto said. “He’ll probably chirp me back, so it’s OK.”

The two rookies are planning on living together this season in Ottawa, although Pinto suggests he will handle the majority of the duties in the kitchen.

“Jake can’t cook,” Pinto said. “But he’ll get there one day.”

It’s clear that Pinto and Sanderson — who were also teammates at the University of North Dakota — have a tight relationship built on teasing each other in a good-natured, almost brotherly manner.

But on Friday morning, their usual banter and back-and-forth ribbing suddenly vanished. After wrapping up breakfast at the team hotel, the two players took an eerily silent stroll together along the harbour in downtown Buffalo.

“We took a walk near the water and we didn’t say a word to each other,” said Pinto. “I mean, we were both pretty nervous.”

When Sanderson was asked to describe the walk from his perspective on Friday afternoon, he interjected partway through the question.

“Now that you’re saying it, I don’t think we said a word,” Sanderson said with a laugh.