Blake Chester Pietila (born February 20, 1993) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. He most recently played for the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). Pietila was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 5th round of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...

Playing career

As a youth, Pietila played in the 2006

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Detroit Compuware

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. Pietila, of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

descent through his grandfather, played collegiate hockey with

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michiga ...

of the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

. After his four-year college career was completed after his senior season in 2014–15, Pietila, who was the captain, was signed to a two-year entry level contract with the New Jersey Devils on May 27, 2015. In his debut professional season in 2015–16, Pietila was initially reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils. He later made his NHL debut for the Devils on March 24, 2016, against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. He recorded his first NHL goal on March 31, 2016, against the Florida Panthers with only 5.1 seconds remaining in a 3-2 loss. On July 26, 2017, the Devils re-signed Pietila to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.335 million and $667,000 annually. On July 2, 2019, Pietila left the Devils organization after four seasons as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks for the 2019–20 season. He played the duration of his contract with the Ducks assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

, recording 12 goals and 24 points through 49 regular season games before the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. As a free agent from the Ducks leading into the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Pietila belatedly signed a professional tryout contract with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, affiliate to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

, on February 8, 2021.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietila, Blake 1993 births Living people Albany Devils players American people of Finnish descent American men's ice hockey left wingers Binghamton Devils players Hershey Bears players Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players People from Milford, Michigan Ice hockey players from Michigan New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players