Emil Pieniniemi

January 2025 – The Penguins 2023 third round selection – 91^st overall at the time of his draft was widely viewed as a big, mobile defensive defenseman. After his draft he played the bulk of his D+1 season in the Liiga playing big minutes with Karpat but only produced six points in 38 games. For the 2024-25 campaign, he made the move to North America to report to the Kingston Frontenacs. In the OHL he has developed his offensive game and is on pace for 65 points in 63 games. He had an impressive showing with Finland at the 2025 WJC where he was the team’s top defender, helping lead Finland to the Silver Medal. While still a physical and defensive defender, his offensive game has blossomed, he is not an electric rush player, however he is very effective running the power play on the point. He displays strong hockey sense and vision with his timing feeding passes right in the wheelhouse for one timers or threading the needle from the point. His point shots are both chances to score himself, or placed and timed for tips, deflections or rebounds. Pieniniemi is trending towards an NHL middle six player. An ideal two-way support player that can log big minutes, provide a nice blend of peripheral stats in hits and blocks as well as reasonable offensive production. After a successful D+2 season in the OHL, Pieniniemi looks ready for the next step at the pro level in the AHL, but could be looking at the NHL in one to two seasons. Peter Harling