Blake Pietila

July 2019 – Pietila has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Ducks.  Jokke Nevalainen

April 2019 — Pietila produced very little in five more games for New Jersey before being sent down to Binghamton on March 22nd. The forward is excellent at the AHL level and finished up with 46 points in 50 games there. He will continue to play top-six minutes for Binghamton next year with the occasional callup possible. Chris Wassel

March 2019 – Pietila did well in Binghamton to earn another call-up with New Jersey. Unfortunately for the left winger, it has been more of the same. He has one point (14 games played) for the New Jersey Devils and is a -6. He averages around 12 minutes a night but has seen 15+ minutes on a few occasions of late. With all the injuries, this is a real opportunity for Pietila to show all his attributes. So far, it has been a mixed bag at best. The forward is averaging less than a shot a game and worse even with his defensive deployment, he is getting pummeled possession wise (less than 40% Corsi For). Pietila may be back to Binghamton in the near future. Chris Wassel

April 2017 – With a spate of injuries and a disappointing New Jersey campaign nearly at a close, Pietila had an opportunity to get in eight March NHL games, giving him a total of 10, including one assist, nine shots on goal, and a minus-5. He continued to play a significant role for AHL Albany between his brief Newark stays with 17 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. A fifth-round pick of the Devils in 2011, Pietila becomes a restricted free agent after this year as his $662,500 contract expires. Kevin Wickersham

April 2017 – With a spate of injuries and a disappointing New Jersey campaign nearly at a close Pietila had an opportunity to get in eight March NHL games, giving him a total of ten including one assist, nine shots-on-goal, and a minus-5. He continued to play a significant role for AHL Albany between his brief Newark stays with 17 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. A fifth-round pick of the Devils in 2011, Pietila becomes a restricted free agent after this year as his $662,500 contract expires.  Kevin WickershamNovember 2106 – Returning to Albany after a two-game stint with the parent Devils in the wake of Taylor Hall’s injury and Mike Cammalleri’s family-related absence, the speedy and hard-working Pietila is just a point behind Joseph Blandisi for the AHL Devils’ scoring lead with 11 points, including six goals (tops for Albany) and five assists, all in four fewer games than Blandisi. This is a significant increase in production, considering his regular season totals for last year (ten goals and seven assists in 59 games), as he played a more defensive, bottom-six role for much of the campaign. Spending a good portion of 2016-17 centering Albany’s top line flanked by John Quenneville and Peter Straka, Pietila has made the most of his opportunities thus far. – Kevin Wickersham

January 2016 – Blake Pietila is having himself a pretty good rookie season for the Albany Devils. As a bottom-six defensive winger, Pietila managed to score six goals and four assists in 31 games. Pietila will need some more seasoning in the AHL before he is ready to make the jump to the NHL. He still projects to be a checking line player who can chip in offensively occasionally. Justin Nobre

July 2015 – Pietila, finished what looked to be a pretty sucessful four-year college career at Michigan Tech (WCHA). Pietila scored 46 goals and 60 assists for 106 points in 153 games. He also managed to rack up 230 penalty minutes in his career which shows he has a tendency to play with an edge. His senior year with the Huskies was his most successful as he posted career highs of 14 goals and 30 points and led the team with 56 penalty minutes. Pietila was also named to the All-WCHA Third Team and he played as a co-captain for his final two years. Pietila recently signed a two year entry-level contract for $650,000 the first year and $675,000 for the second year. Much like fellow Devils prospect, Kujawinski, Pietila will most likely play in a bottom six role in Albany next year as an energy player. Justin Nobre