Blake Pietila

Blake Chester Pietila (born February 20, 1993) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played with the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). Pietila was drafted by the Devils in the 5th round of the 2011 NHL entry draft.

Family His grandfather was born and raised in Finland. Blake's brother also play hockey.

Playing career As a youth, Pietila played in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team.

Pietila, of Finnish descent through his grandfather, played collegiate hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. 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. 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, recording 12 goals and 24 points through 49 regular season games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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, on February 8, 2021.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2009–10 U.S. National Development Team USHL 28 5 3 8 27 — — — — — 2010–11 U.S. National Development Team USHL 24 4 5 9 20 — — — — — 2011–12 Michigan Tech WCHA 39 10 14 24 46 — — — — — 2012–13 Michigan Tech WCHA 35 14 10 24 44 — — — — — 2013–14 Michigan Tech WCHA 39 8 20 28 84 — — — — — 2014–15 Michigan Tech WCHA 40 14 16 30 56 — — — — — 2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 58 10 7 17 41 8 3 3 6 8 2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Albany Devils AHL 49 17 16 33 38 4 0 2 2 0 2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 10 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2017–18 Binghamton Devils AHL 60 12 10 22 26 — — — — — 2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2018–19 Binghamton Devils AHL 50 20 26 46 42 — — — — — 2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 2019–20 San Diego Gulls AHL 49 12 12 24 20 — — — — — 2020–21 Hershey Bears AHL 6 0 1 1 8 — — — — — NHL totals 38 1 3 4 12 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2010 United States U17 6 1 0 1 2 2011 United States U18 6 1 0 1 0 2013 United States WJC 7 0 2 2 0 Junior totals 19 2 2 4 2

Awards and honors Award Year College All-WCHA Third Team 2014–15