Carlsberg WHL Alumni Spotlight: Penguins rookie Kindel shines in Western Canada homecoming

Vancouver, B.C.- This time last year, Ben Kindel was laser-focused on pushing to the WHL Playoffs.

But as he embarked on a 99-point season that saw him set a Calgary Hitmen record for longest point streak (23 games), he was also looking ahead to the 2025 NHL Draft with quiet excitement and anticipation.

How quickly things change.

Seven months after the Pittsburgh Penguins selected the 18-year-old with the 11th overall pick, Kindel found himself back in the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time since bowing out in the 2025 WHL Eastern Conference Championship- this time, sitting in the visitors’ dressing room.

“It’s a surreal moment for sure,” Kindel reflected. “Take a second just to look around- all the good memories from this building and my time here. So just couldn’t be more grateful for that. It’s an unbelievable place to play.”

"The biggest thing I'll always have with me is lifelong friends that I made [in Calgary]."@penguins rookie Ben Kindel is back at the 'Dome for the first time since hearing his named called in the first round of the 2025 #NHLDraft last June!🥹@WHLHitmen | #WHLAlumni pic.twitter.com/G6PmIhUaUf

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 21, 2026

The 5-foot-11, 182-pound centreman flexed his hockey IQ and playmaking ability over parts of three seasons with the Hitmen, racking up 159 points (50G-109A) in 139 games.

Originally selected with the 43rd overall pick in the second round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, he also showed he could put forward some of his best work in the postseason, adding 15 points (8G-7A) in 11 tilts in the 2025 Playoffs.

Beyond setting the team point streak record, Kindel was named a WHL East Division First Team All-Star and helped Calgary to its best regular season in a decade in his final campaign.

“Obviously, those things are cool, and the success we had as a team was cool,” Kindel recalled. “But I think, just in general, the time that you spend with your teammates, just a great group that we had the last couple years, and some fun memories on the road and in the change room with those guys, I think, is the biggest thing I always have with me… Lifelong friends that I made here and lifelong people that supported me that I

They did so much for me, both as a player and a person, to help develop me. It went by very fast, but probably the two best years of my life. So I think I’ll forever have that here.”

Kindel and the Penguins skated to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames later that night and continued their success by steamrolling the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on the second half of a back-to-back, setting the stage for the road trip finale in Vancouver in front of his friends and family.

The Coquitlam, B.C. product had 192 loved ones piled into a suite and peppered throughout the crowd on January 25 for his homecoming game, and midway through the second period, they were all on their feet as Kindel redirected a centering pass from Ryan Shea for his first goal since December 14.

Before the second frame was done, he lit the lamp for a second time for a one-timer from the high slot.

Kindel’s second strike would stand as the game-winner in the 3-2 decision, putting a bow on a perfect 4-0 road trip through Western Canada.

“It’s awesome,” Kindel told reporters postgame. “Lots of people that have been part of my life for a long time and have helped me make it here. So it’s great. This night’s just about them as much.”

TWO GOALS IN FRONT OF THE HOMETOWN CROWD FOR KINDY! 👏 pic.twitter.com/8A8uH6Q8m9

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 26, 2026

Following the win, his teammates awarded him the postgame hardhat.

“We were super happy for him,” Penguins goaltender and WHL alum Stuart Skinner said in his scrum. “It’s pretty cool to watch him do what he does, especially in front of some family and some friends, a lot of them. I was from Edmonton and I don’t think I ever had that many people there! It’s a very special moment for him, I’m sure it probably brings him a lot of gratitude.”

The youngster has piled up 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 48 games in his rookie run.

Pittsburgh (26-14-11) has defied expectations to sit second in the Metropolitan Division just before the Olympic break.

Kindel and company will look for a fifth-straight win when the Penguins return home to host Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-9) on Thursday, January 29.