The Kingston Frontenacs have had a busy summer. GM Kory Cooper has dealt away two forwards — Christopher Thibodeau and Gabriel Frasca — but adjacently brought three new members to the organization.
Kingston first acquired Memorial Cup-winning goaltender Nolan Lalonde, then Vegas Golden Knights sixth-rounder Tuomas Uronen, and most recently former Montreal Canadiens draft pick, Cedrick Guindon
Lalonde and Guindon are overage players and Uronen may only play this one season with the Frontenacs. The organization will have an older, more experienced team this year, and another new addition adds to what they have been building.
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Thursday afternoon, the Frontenacs announced the signing of defenseman Emil Pieniniemi to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.
Pieniniemi, 19, was selected 10th overall in the 2023 CHL Import Draft by the Frontenacs. He played last season in Finland’s highest professional hockey league, Liiga, for Karpat. Emil also represented Finland at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors and at the recent World Juniors Summer Showcase where he recorded two goals and three points in four games.
Emil was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round, 91st overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and signed his entry-level contract with them on Jul. 14, 2023.
Seeing as the 6-foot-2, 176-pound defenseman is a 2005-born and has an NHL contract to his name, his upcoming year with Kingston will most likely be a one-and-done season.
Kingston’s two import players for the 2024-25 season will be a couple of Fins in Tuomas Uronen and Emil Pieniniemi, who won bronze together at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“Emil will be a big addition to our team. He is a very good puck-moving defenseman who will certainly help our powerplay but can also slot into any role in any situation. We are looking forward to helping Emil continue his development here in Kingston as he prepares for his NHL career,” said GM Kory Cooper.
The Frontenacs blueline will be led by St. Louis Blues prospect Quinton Burns and their new import defender Pieniniemi. Does this mean Slovak import defenseman Jakub Chromiak won’t be returning?
Chromiak was acquired by the team last year from the Sudbury Wolves in exchange for three draft picks. However, the team now has its two import spots filled with Uronen and Pieniniemi.
The rest of the D-corps will take shape once training camp rolls around, which starts on Aug. 28 for Kingston. The team will be announcing their training camp roster in the coming days but don’t be surprised if Pieniniemi’s name isn’t on the list due to him most likely training in Pittsburgh and ready to attend their training camp.
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