The Panthers’ June 13 acquisition of Emil Pieniniemi gives Florida a defenseman with a clear offensive track record and a fairly defined projection. In the deal, Florida sent the rights to forward Oliver Okuliar to the Penguins and landed Pieniniemi, who had been Pittsburgh’s third-round pick, 91st overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Pieniniemi’s path started in Finland, where he put together a strong draft season with Kärpät’s U20 SM-sarja team. He played 31 games there and finished with one goal and 12 assists, while also making his Liiga debut for the club. A week later, Kingston took him 10th overall in the CHL Import Draft, and on July 14, 2023, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Pittsburgh.
He stayed in Finland for the 2023-24 regular season, appearing in 38 Liiga games for Kärpät and posting two goals, four assists, a minus-two rating and 10 penalty minutes. He also saw action in four Mestis games with Kokkolan Hermes, adding one goal and one assist. Kärpät went on to play 12 postseason games, with Pieniniemi in 10 of them as the club reached the bronze-medal stage after falling in the semifinals to Pelicans.
His move to North America came after the World Junior Summer Showcase, when he joined Kingston for the 2024-25 OHL season. That’s where his offensive game really popped.
Running the Frontenacs’ power play, he scored 10 goals and piled up 50 assists for 60 points in 60 games. He kept producing in the playoffs too, scoring four times and adding six assists in 11 games before Kingston was knocked out in seven by the Barrie Colts in the second round.
Pieniniemi has also been a regular on Finland’s international stage. He played at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, where he had one assist in five games, and at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. At the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, he helped Finland to a silver medal, scoring against Germany, picking up an assist against the United States in group play, and then scoring again in the gold medal game against the Americans.
Last season, he moved into the pro game. In the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he had a goal and two assists in nine games.
In the ECHL with Wheeling, he produced six goals and five assists in 26 games. He also appeared in two Calder Cup playoff games for the Penguins and had one assist, while leading all Wheeling defensemen with eight points, including one goal and seven assists, in 15 of the Nailers’ 17 Kelly Cup playoff games.
Florida got its first extended look at him at the team’s recent development camp, where he was one of eight defensemen on hand. The scouting read is pretty straightforward: he’s smart, skilled and confident with the puck, but he doesn’t have a big frame, isn’t especially physical, and still has work to do as a skater. Even so, he’s viewed as a prospect with a high floor, with a likely ceiling as either a very good AHL defenseman or a serviceable puck-moving third-pairing NHL defender.
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