Emil Pieniniemi Reassigned to Pens, Breazeale Sent to Wheeling
AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Emil Pieniniemi Reassigned to Pens, Breazeale Sent to Wheeling

Published on January 27, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned defenseman Emil Pieniniemi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers.

Furthermore, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has reassigned defenseman David Breazeale to Wheeling.

Pieniniemi was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round (91st overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. In his first 10 ECHL games, the 20-year-old produced two goals and two assists for four points as a Nailer.

Last season, Pieniniemi played junior hockey for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He paced Kingston blueliners in goals (10), assists (50), points (60), power-play goals (5), power-play assists (26), power-play points (31) and shots (136). He also tied for the fifth-highest assist total among OHL defensemen and placed sixth in points by rearguards.

Breazeale has logged nine games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. He scored his first AHL goal on Dec. 28 at Lehigh Valley, then gathered his first AHL assist in the next game, Dec. 30 vs. Charlotte. In 11 career games for the Penguins, the Grandville, Michigan native has four points (1G-3A) and 10 penalty minutes.

Breazeale also has two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games for Wheeling this year.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's next game is Saturday, Jan. 31. The Syracuse Crunch make their first visit to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza as the Penguins host their annual Crosscheck Cancer Night presented by Geisinger. Puck drop between the Penguins and Crunch is slated for 6:05 p.m.

Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins' front office at (570) 208-7367.

Fans can download the team's full slate of games at 2025-26-WBS-Schedule.pdf.

Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league's streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2026


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