Latest news with #BenKindel
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Penguins sign their top 2025 draft pick to entry-level contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed their top draft pick to an entry-level contract. Ben Kindel, 18, a forward the Penguins drafted as the 11th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is signed to a three-year contract. He is eligible to play in the NHL for the 2025-26 season or be returned to the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen. Advertisement Kindel has played two full seasons with the Calgary Hitmen, and has played parts of three WHL seasons since 2023. In the 2024-25 season, he recorded 35 goals, 64 assists and 99 points in 65 games. He led Calgary with 15 pounds in 11 playoff games. Kindel was named to the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team in 2025 and has represented Team Canada twice at the 2025 World Under-18 Championship and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, winning the gold medal at both tournaments. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CTV News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Calgary Flames pick forwards Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter in first round of NHL Entry Draft
The city skyline is seen behind the Saddledome, home of the Calgary Flames, in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, March 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh The Calgary Flames had two picks in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft on Friday night—No. 18 and No. 32. Cole Reschny was the Flames' first pick. The 18-year-old from Macklin, Sask., is a forward with the Victoria Royals. Cullen Potter was who the Flames picked next. The 18-year-old from Minneapolis is a forward with Arizona State University. Friday evening, the Calgary Hitmen expressed their pride in seeing forward Ben Kindel picked up by the Pittsburgh Penguins at No. 11. The 18-year-old hails from Coquitlam, B.C. The next rounds of the NHL Entry Draft are set to take place on Saturday.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calgary Hitmen Ben Kindel Drafted 11th Overall By The Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected Ben Kindel 11th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old center is the third WHLer selected, and is the third straight pick from the WHL. Listed at 5'11", 180 lbs, Kindel recently won a Gold Medal with Team Canada at the U`18s. Kindel had a season to remember in 2024-25. He recorded 99 points in 65 regular-season games, while producing 15 in 11 post-season games. Kindel is a versatile playmaker who is projected to be a middle-six player at the NHL level. Ben Kindel of the Calgary Hitmen (Photo Credit: Jenn Pierce/Calgary Hitmen/WHL) Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Brandon Wheat Kings Roger McQueen Drafted Tenth Overall By The Anaheim Ducks Advertisement Seattle Thunderbirds Radim Mrtka Drafted Ninth Overall By The Buffalo Sabres Eight WHLers Projected To Be Selected In The First Round Of The 2025 NHL Entry Draft 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Brandon Gorzynski Tri-City Americans Trade Max Curran To The Edmonton Oil Kings
National Post
26-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Mom and dad both played for Vancouver Whitecaps, but Ben Kindel set to make noise at NHL Draft
Ben Kindel's first NHL goal has to feature him kicking the puck up to his stick before firing it home. That would only be fitting. Article content The 18-year-old right winger from Coquitlam, who is expected to be a first-round pick in this weekend's NHL Draft in Los Angeles, is the son of Steve Kindel and Sara Maglio, who were both standouts with their Vancouver Whitecaps teams and played soccer internationally for Canada. Article content They each remain firmly entrenched in the game — with Maglio the executive director for Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer and Kindel the senior technical director for North Vancouver FC. Ben's teenage sister, Lacey, is accomplished on the pitch herself that she was part of Canada's entry in the Concacaf Under-15 championships in Costa Rica last summer. Article content Ben also played soccer up until a couple of years ago, opting then to further amp up his focus on hockey. Article content He was the highest-scoring, first-year, draft-eligible player in the WHL this past season, putting up 99 points, including 35 goals, in his sophomore campaign with the Calgary Hitmen. He was seventh overall in league scoring. He set a franchise record with a 23-game point streak (15-30-45) midway through the campaign. Article content Elite Prospects culls together various mock drafts and has the 5-foot-11, 186-pound right-shot Kindel slotted at No. 20 overall in its consolidated ranking. Among the teams picking in that vicinity are the Vancouver Canucks, who have the No. 15 selection. 'All the teams that interviewed me asked about my parents and how playing soccer has helped my hockey,' he said earlier this week. 'Obviously, my mom and dad passed along good athletic and competitive genes. They taught me a lot about how to be professional and the mental side of sport as well. Article content 'It wasn't hard to tell them I wanted to give up soccer. They always knew that hockey was what I wanted do. Article content 'My parents didn't go through something like this. But they've talked about embracing every moment, because you never know when your athletic career might end.' Article content 'It's a childhood dream come true for me and my family and all the people that have supported me along the way.' Hear from 21st-ranked North American skater and @WHLHitmen forward Benjamin Kindel ahead of the 2025 #NHLDraft. — Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) June 26, 2025 Article content Kindel is represented by Vancouver agent Ross Gurney. When Gurney was starting out, one of his first clients was Steve Kindel. Article content Article content Ben says that, 'It would be a really cool thing to be a hometown player in this city,' in regards to the opportunity to be drafted by the Canucks. His favourite team growing up, though, was the Montreal Canadiens, and that's something that has been passed along from his father. Article content He was a mainstay with the Whitecaps from 2000-08, when they were playing in the USL First Division and based out of Swangard Stadium. He helped them win league championships in 2006 and 2008. Article content Just days before Ben was born in April 2007, Steve did an interview with Postmedia. He was asked then about what he would be doing if he was not playing for the Whitecaps. He replied, 'A rock star. Or maybe a hockey player. I'm probably a little too small to play hockey, though.' Article content Steve's Soccer Canada player bio lists Italian forward Giuseppe Signori and defender Paolo Maldini as his favourite athletes, along with Canadiens/Colorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy. Steve's international career included the Under-20 World Cup in 1997 and Olympic qualifying in 2000.
National Post
26-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
NHL Draft primer: Hitmen, Calgary draft-eligibles set for annual pick-em
Article content And internationally, the Hitmen forward won gold with Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, in which he had a goal and an assist, and the 2025 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, in which he scored once and added six helpers. Article content 'What it is, it's hockey sense with Ben,' Davidson said. 'He's got outstanding hockey sense. He sees and thinks the game so well. And he was undersized, and he's obviously growing now a little bit and gotten stronger, and he's still got a ways to go in that department, which also translates that strength with core and legs to taking his skating to another level. Article content 'But it's all about his head and his sense that's really high.' Article content Kindel was also a monster presence in the playoffs, with eight goals and 15 points — both team-highs — in just 11 games. Article content Two of those tallies were overtime winners — back-to-back — in Games 4 and 5 of their second-round series with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Article content 'Certainly Ben has risen to the occasion when it's needed and seems to embrace that, for sure,' Kindel said. 'It reinforces why we took him in the second round of the bantam draft, and we were actually pretty shocked he was still there. Article content 'So … yeah … it's gratifying for us. But more importantly, it's all about the player, and you're excited for the player and his family.' Article content Hitmen teammate Brandon Gorzynski is ranked 50th in the rankings, rising high from his 81st rating midway through the season. Article content The 6-foot-2, 181-lb. forward racked up 17 goals and 42 points in 68 WHL games this past season — his second with the Hitmen. Article content 'As the season went along, he just really started, I believe, to believe in himself and how good he was,' said Davidson, of the native of Scottsdale, Ariz. 'This guy gets around the ice real well. He's 6-foot-2 — he's got that pro frame. And he's probably a guy, I think, with a little more development would be able to play up and down in the lineup. Article content 'Early in the year, Brandon had very little special-teams opportunity,' continued Davidson. 'As the season went along, his role grew to where he was on power plays and he was killing penalties, and I just think there's a lot more there yet. I think he'd be a good pick for his NHL team.' Article content Article content Article content Goaltender Anders Miller isn't ranked but has also risen in the eyes of scouts. Article content His clutch play when called upon in the playoffs was a big reason for the shift in his stock. Miller came on for injured starter Daniel Hauser from the drop of the puck in the post-season and posted a 2.55 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage in 10 games played for the Hitmen. His 7-3 record anchored two-round success — they fell one win short of Round 3 — in the WHL playoffs. Article content 'He's a sleeper,' said Davidson of Miller, a product of Anchorage, Alaska. 'Teams are already talking about him going to their camps, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's picked later in the draft. I look at him as a 6-foot-2 strong kid. He obviously needs more experience, but he's just trending in such a positive way.' Article content Davidson will grab a pizza and a comfy spot with family and friends to take in the draft. Article content With Kindel a possible top-20 pick, it's a chance for the longtime WHL GM and scout to reap the rewards from the development of another successful player.
