Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 20: Defenseman Continues To Make Steady Progress
Landing at No. 20 on the THN - Pittsburgh Penguins Top-20 Prospects List for 2026 is a defenseman whose growth last season lent to him rising up the ranks.
It's officially another season, another prospects ranking for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In years past, this has been a bit easier of an exercise, as there used to be a more clear-cut line between prospects with NHL upside and longshots. However, because of the work that general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and his staff have put in during the last several years, the line is blurring a whole lot more - and there is a substantially higher volume of talent in the system.
This time around, making a top-20 list was challenging. So, a few criteria were put into place: To make our list, prospects must be under the age of 26 and have played less than 50 NHL games. This excludes names such as Ben Kindel, Filip Hallander, Oliver Okuliar, and Alexander Alexeyev.
We already went through some of the names who just missed the cut, so without further ado, the official list begins. We kick things off with a blueliner who has seen a steady progression within the Penguins' system the last two years and who is helping bolster depth on the right-side prospect pool.
No. 20: D Chase Pietila
One year ago, the argument to include Pietila on the Top-20 list would have been met with some understandable doubt. For some, even including him this season might be questionable, given some of the other talent that the Penguins possess in the pipeline.
However, Pietila's play last season warranted a selection on this list, as he is coming into his own as one of the more reliable blueliners in Pittsburgh's system.
Selected by the Penguins in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Pietila was first a product of the USHL program before moving on to Michigan Tech for two seasons. In the NCAA, he put together two consecutive campaigns with 22 points, with his second season featuring seven goals and the third-highest average time on ice (26:37) among NCAA defensemen.
By that second season, he had already been selected by Pittsburgh. His performance also earned him a brief look in the ECHL and AHL near the end of their respective regular seasons, and in 12 games combined between those levels, he had three points - all from his time with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL - and was a plus-4.
From there, he remained in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins after departing from the NCAA when he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins prior to the 2025-26 season.
And, as mentioned, he took some big strides last season.
The two goals and 16 points in 66 AHL regular season games may not stand out in any kind of grand way, but it was Pietila’s work in his own zone, in transition, and in developing consistency that led to his success. Pietila’s ability to read and disrupt plays was on full display last season, and even if plus/minus is a largely arbitrary stat, his plus-27 mark wasn't by accident and was second only to Finn Harding.
He also provided a stabilizing presence on WBS’s blue line throughout the regular season and into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
General manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas mentioned Pietila as part of a core group of young defensemen the Penguins have in their system and praised his work in the playoffs.
“What I saw in the playoffs down there was Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, Finn Harding, Chase Pietila, I thought they had excellent playoffs. And, really, they used the playoffs to come a long way… I think we’re really happy with how those guys came along.”
Being grouped in with the other three is no small thing, especially since those are arguably the best three blueliners in the Penguins’ system right now. Like Harding, Pietila does have some offensive upside, but the bread and butter of his game is his reliability and steadiness, which is something Pittsburgh will need down the line on its NHL club if higher-risk offensive defenseman like Brunicke are part of the picture. If he can become a steady, reliable bottom-pair defenseman - which is likely his ceiling - that's still a win.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman still has some developmental steps to take if he is to eventually become a full-time NHL player. But his growth and progress is encouraging for an organization that desperately needs blue line depth, and if he can continue to build out his two-way game even more, he might continue to climb this list.
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