Morning Notes: Pietila, Rondbjerg, Klingberg
Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Chase Pietila has signed an ATO with their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Pietila is fresh off signing a three-year ELC with Pittsburgh earlier this week and will finish out the year getting his first taste of professional hockey in the AHL.
The Penguins drafted Pietila in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old spent this past year in the NCAA with Michigan Tech where he registered seven goals and 15 assists in 36 games. Pietila spent two years in the NCAA after spending the previous three seasons in the USHL.
In other morning notes:
- The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned forward Jonas Rondbjerg to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL (as per SinBin.vegas). Rondbjerg was recalled earlier in the week and dressed in the Golden Knights’ loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night but played just 6:02 and was held scoreless. The demotion is no surprise given that Vegas just welcomed back Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev to their lineup. The 25-year-old Rondbjerg has no points in 12 NHL games this season and has averaged just 9:21 of ice time per game.
- Edmonton Oilers defenseman John Klingberg didn’t play in last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils as he continues to deal with an undisclosed injury. The 32-year-old hasn’t played since March 4th after signing a one-year deal with the Oilers in mid-January. Klingberg has produced offense when healthy, posting a goal and three assists in 10 games. The Oilers are back in action tonight against the New York Islanders and given the tight timeline it seems unlikely that he will play. However, he did re-join the Oilers yesterday at practice and has been travelling with the team (as per Sportsnet).
Penguins Sign Chase Pietila
The Penguins have signed one of their prospects from their most recent draft class. The team announced that they’ve signed defenseman Chase Pietila to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the deal will begin next season.
The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick (111th overall) back in June in his final year of eligibility. He spent two years with USHL Youngstown, the second of which saw him break through with 36 points along with 125 penalty minutes in 60 games in the 2022-23 season.
From there, Pietila moved on to Michigan Tech where a solid freshman year that saw him notch 22 points in 40 games got him on the draft radar. This season, he potted seven goals and 15 assists in 36 contests and is wasting little time getting his professional career started now.
As a result of the deal starting next season, Pietila won’t be eligible to suit up for Pittsburgh at all down the stretch. However, he is eligible to sign an ATO agreement with either AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or ECHL Wheeling and will likely do so in the coming days.