The Pittsburgh Penguins decision to select forward Benjamin Kindel with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft was an immediately polarizing decision. It was something of an off-the-board pick,
especially given some of the bigger — and expected — names that were available (looking at you, Viktor Eklund). While it was something of a surprise, there was still a lot to like about his upside and his potential.
Both the talent and the production were there, and while he was not necessarily projected as a top-11 pick a lot of prospects experts and scouting experts saw the upside with him.
So far this preseason Kindel is doing a lot to validate the Penguins’ faith in him.
Now, preseason results always need to be taken with a grain of salt because there is always some question as to the level of talent players are competing against. NHL regulars are not always out there, and you can play some lineups some nights that are full of AHLers and players waiting to get sent back to the Junior leagues.
But Kindel has been given quite a run and extended leash this preseason against all levels of competition, and the end results are pretty much always the same — he has been good and stood out, while also consistently getting better.
He played another strong game on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres, demonstrating a willingness and ability to make the little plays along the boards and subtle plays with the puck to keep possession moving. He also set up defenseman Matt Dumba for a goal on a blistering one-timer during a delayed penalty situation.
From a numbers perspective this preseason he has a goal and an assist, while also recording 14 shots on goal and 26 total shot attempts. The latter two numbers being extremely impressive, and a strong demonstration of his ability to create offense and chances.
The overall underlying numbers when he’s on ice are also strog, as he owns a 72.3 percent expected goals share, a 75 percent actual goals share (3-1) and a 59.6 percent shot attempt share.
He’s been awesome.
That brings up two big discussion points.
The first is whether or not it makes any sense to give him a nine-game look to open the season before he goes back to juniors. The Penguins have said they want to go young this season — or at least dropped the hint to the local media — and would not hesitate to sit veterans for younger players. They probably did not have Kindel in mind for one of those spots, but they also may not have expected him to be this good.
Even so, making the jump from the CHL to NHL in one year is a massive for a player his age, and it does not happen often outside of the top picks in the draft. It might be tempting, but it might be better off to just give him another full year to develop before putting him in the NHL.
The other key point is what this might mean for the farm system as a whole.
While the Penguins farm system and prospect pool has become significantly deeper and better over the past year, and actually has some real talent at the top, they are still missing a big-time future star that can be a cornerstone building block. Rutger McGroary, Ville Koivunen and Harrison Brunicke are serious prospects that could have outstanding futures in the league, but they may not quite be on the star or superstar level.
Sergei Murashov might find that description, and given his position (goalie) he could be the most impactful player of the bunch. But he’s also a goalie and those guys are impossible to project.
Then there is Kindel.
He is the highest draft pick the Penguins have had in years, and that alone makes him one of the organization’s best prospects. Could he eventually become one of those All-Star level building blocks?
It’s still a small sample size in the preseason, but he’s showing a lot of the talents and skills you want to see from an NHL player and holding his own as a literal teenager. It remains to be seen if the Penguins got this pick right, but he has done nothing but build some excitement and optimism in our first real look at him in a Penguins uniform.
