When the Pittsburgh Penguins went into the 2025 NHL Draft with the 11th overall selection, they were expecting to pick a player that would help down the line in the future, and wait to begin his NHL career. But that was not the case for Ben Kindel as he was so impressive in prospect camp, training camp, and preseason games that he made the Penguins Opening Night roster.
And since Opening Night, he has been centering the Penguins third line with forwards Tommy Novak and a rotation of forward Philip Tomasino and forward Ville Koivunen. But lately, Koivunen has been occupying the 3RW spot on Kindel's right.
But no matter who has rotated on his line and with Kindel's recent promotion to the Penguins top powerplay unit, the kid does it all. He just is so impressive in every facet of the game, offensively, defensively, and on special teams.
Kindel's performance wasn't good enough for the Penguins to win but it showed the Penguins they have a gem
Kindel scored two goals in the Penguins recent loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. It was not good enough to get the Penguins the win, but it showed the Penguins that Kindel is going to be special from now and into the future.
Kindel was the Penguins 11th overall pick in 2025, but the fact that he also has lasted longer than Brady Martin did in the NHL, says a lot. Martin was drafted with the 5th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Draft, and he was sent back to his junior team after three NHL games.
Kindel has a good head coach and good players to play with have that be on the third line or on the top powerplay unit. Kindel is going to be special for a long time with the Penguins and is already an integral part of the present and the future.