Kuhnhackl was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round (No. 110) of the 2010 NHL Draft and played the following season with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League, where he scored 68 points (39 goals, 29 assists) in 63 games.
Kuhnhackl turned pro for the 2012-13 season, but injuries slowed his development and he spent time between Wheeling of the ECHL and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Considered a scoring-line winger, he changed his approach to become more of a two-way forward. Kuhnhackl made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 9, 2016 and scored his first goal while shorthanded against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 20, 2016.
Kuhnhackl was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round (No. 110) of the 2010 NHL Draft and played the following season with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League, where he scored 68 points (39 goals, 29 assists) in 63 games.
Kuhnhackl turned pro for the 2012-13 season, but injuries slowed his development and he spent time between Wheeling of the ECHL and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Considered a scoring-line winger, he changed his approach to become more of a two-way forward. Kuhnhackl made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 9, 2016 and scored his first goal while shorthanded against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 20, 2016.
He played 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2016 when the Penguins won the championship but sustained an injury in 2017 and was limited to 11 games when the Penguins repeated.
Kuhnhackl signed with the Islanders as an unrestricted free agent on July 2, 2018 and scored nine points (four goals, five assists) in 36 regular-season games before helping New York reach the Eastern Conference Second Round. He had three assists in eight playoff games.
He re-signed with the Islanders on July 1, 2019.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Signed as a free agent by NY Islanders, July 3, 2018.
