Penguins Sign Ben Kindel to a Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Ben Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Kindel was the Penguins’ top selection in the 2025 NHL Draft at 11^th overall last month. In the 2025-26 season, he is eligible to play in the NHL or be returned to the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen, per the NHL-CHL agreement.

Kindel, 18, played his second full season with Calgary of the WHL in 2024-25. In 65 games, the forward tallied 35 goals, 64 assists and 99 points with a plus-39. Kindel led all Hitmen in assists and ranked second in goals and points, while his 99 points were the seventh most in the entire WHL. He set a Hitmen franchise record with a 23-game point streak (15G-30A) from Nov. 8-Jan. 12, which was the second-longest streak in the league this season behind WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna’s 40-game point streak. For his efforts, Kindel was named to the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team.

The 5-foot-11, 181-pound forward led Calgary with 15 points (8G-7A) 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.

The Coquitlam, British Columbia native represented Team Canada on two separate occasions last season at the 2025 World Under-18 Championship (1G-6A-7PTS in 5GP) and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (1G-1A in 5GP), winning the gold medal at both tournaments.