SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Emil Pieniniemi from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the rights to forward Oliver Okuliar.
Pieniniemi, 21, skated in nine games with the American Hockey League (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins throughout the 2025-26 campaign, registering three points (1-2-3). He appeared in two postseason contests with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, notching an assist. Pieniniemi also amassed 11 points (6-5-11) over 26 games with the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. He paced all Wheeling defensemen in points (1-7-8) throughout 15 Kelly Cup playoff games.
The 6-foot-2, 176-pound native of Kuopio, Finland previously appeared in 39 games with Karpat of the Finnish professional league (Liiga) from 2022-23 to 2023-24. He earned the Liiga bronze medal with Karpat in his second season with the club.
On the international stage, Pieniniemi represented Finland at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship and the 2024 IIHF U20 World Championship before earning a silver medal at the 2025 IIHF U20 World Championship.
Pieniniemi was originally selected by the Penguins in the third round (91st overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft.
