Penguins sign 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel to entry-level contract

The Penguins have their highest draft pick since Derrick Pouliot under contract.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2025 first-round draft pick Ben Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Kindel 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 does have the opportunity to join the Pittsburgh club out of training camp, but in all likelihood, the 18-year-old right-hander is bound for Calgary, Alberta, where he will rejoin his junior team, the WHL’s Hitmen.

He is not eligible to play in the American Hockey League due to parameters set forth by the NHL-CHL agreement.

In 65 games with the Hitmen last season, 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 Coquitlam, British Columbia native also led Calgary with 15 points (eight goals and seven assists) in 11 playoff games in 2025.

Kindel was most recently seen at the Penguins’ annual development camp, where he scored a shootout goal to help his team advance to the tournament final.

“You see the hockey sense, you see the playmaking ability... if you give a smart player more speed and strength, their game is only going to grow,” said Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos during the camp. “I think he’s a kid who’s willing to put in the work, and he knows what he has to do. It’s been fun to have him here.”