SUNRISE — Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito added defensive depth Saturday, acquiring 21-year-old Finnish blueliner Emil Pieniniemi from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the rights to forward Oliver Okuliar, the team announced.
Pieniniemi has played just one season of North American professional hockey, splitting the 2025-26 campaign between the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. In nine AHL games he registered three points (1-2-3) and added an assist in two postseason contests, according to the Panthers’ official release. With Wheeling, the 6-foot-2, 176-pound defenseman posted 11 points (6-5-11) over 26 regular-season games and paced all Nailers defensemen with eight points (1-7-8) across 15 Kelly Cup playoff games.
Before coming to North America, Pieniniemi appeared in 39 games with Karpat of the Finnish Liiga from 2022-23 to 2023-24, earning a Liiga bronze medal in his second season with the club. He represented Finland at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship and the 2024 IIHF U20 World Championship before capturing a silver medal at the 2025 IIHF U20 World Championship.
Pieniniemi was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the third round, 91st overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft. The trade gives the Panthers another young prospect on the back end as Zito continues reshaping the roster ahead of a busy summer, Florida Hockey Now reported.
The Panthers hold the ninth overall pick and seven selections total in the NHL Draft, scheduled for June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. NHL free agency opens July 1, and the club’s development camp is expected in late June or early July at IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale.