Penguins sign 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel to 3-year, entry-level contract
The Penguins have signed 2025 first-round draft pick Ben Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Kindel, 18, was the Penguins' first of three first-round picks at the 2025 NHL Draft last month. He is the Penguins' highest selection since 2012, when Pittsburgh drafted defenseman Derrick Pouliot No. 8 overall.
Kindel is eligible to play in the NHL beginning with the 2025-26 season. He will be reassigned to his junior team, the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen, under the NHL-CHL agreement if he does not make Pittsburgh's NHL roster.
Kindel played his second full season with Calgary in 2024-25. In 65 games, the forward tallied 35 goals, 64 assists and 99 points with a plus-39, leading all Hitmen in assists and ranked second in goals and points, while his 99 points were the seventh most in the entire WHL, according to a media release from the Penguins.
The 5-foot-11, 181-pound forward also led Calgary with 15 points (eight goals and seven assists) in 11 playoff games in 2025.
Kindel has played parts of three WHL seasons since 2023, recording 50 goals, 109 assists and 159 points with a plus-41 in 134 career games.
While with the Hitmen, he has shared the ice with Tanner Howe, who the Penguins selected in the second round of the 2024 draft.
"I've always kind of had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, and I think that's a good thing," Kindel said after being drafted,
