Tom Kühnhackl

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Kühnhackl played youth ice hockey for the Landshut Cannibals program for three seasons beginning in 2007 alongside Tobias Rieder. He made his professional debut during the 2008–09 season, playing 42 games with Landshut's professional team in the 2nd Bundesliga, the second-highest level in Germany.^[1] He debuted in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) during the 2009–10 season, playing four games with the Augsburger Panther.

Kühnhackl was selected 24th overall in the 2009 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He intended to join the team for the 2009–10 season, but a series of injuries kept him in Germany.^[2] In May 2010, he signed a contract with the Spitfires to join the team for the 2010–11 season.^[3]

Ranked as the eighth-best European skater of the 2010 draft class by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Kühnhackl was selected 110th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Kühnhackl was happy to be drafted by Pittsburgh, as he listed the Penguins as his favourite team.^[4]

On 22 March 2011, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins worth $1.83 million.^[5]

Kühnhackl finished the 2010–11 season with 39 goals and 29 assists for 68 points in 63 games with Windsor. He played four games with the Spitfires to start the 2011–12 season, recording one goal and three assists before he was traded, along with Windsor's second-round choice in the 2013 CHL Import Draft, on 2 November 2011, to the Niagara IceDogs in exchange for Phillip Di Giuseppe, Jaroslav Pavelka, Niagara's second-round picks in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and Niagara's first-round pick in 2013.^[6]

On 4 November 2011, Kühnhackl delivered an elbow to the head of Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ryan Murphy and was assessed a five-minute major for charging and game misconduct. In a website video, the OHL noted that Kühnhackl made contact with the opponent's head and hit a vulnerable, unsuspecting player. The OHL also considered the speed and distance travelled when making its decision and noted that Murphy was injured on the play. On 8 November, OHL president David Branch announced that Kühnhackl would be suspended for 20 games due to the hit.^{[citation needed]}

Kühnhackl made his professional debut in the 2012–13 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but was sidelined by injury after only 11 games. On 2 December 2012, Kühnhackl dislocated his shoulder, requiring season-ending surgery.^[7]

On 20 February 2016, Kühnhackl scored his first NHL goal, a shorthanded breakaway goal during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On 14 March, after recording six points in his first 28 games, including a two-assist game against the New York Rangers the day before, Kühnhackl signed a two-year contract extension with Pittsburgh, along with fellow breakout players Scott Wilson and Bryan Rust.^[8]

Kühnhackl had an impressive run with the Penguins in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, defeating the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks to clinch the Stanley Cup. He became the third German-born NHL player (after Uwe Krupp and Dennis Seidenberg) to win the Cup.^[9] In 2017, after the Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, Kühnhackl became the first German-born NHL player to win the Stanley Cup twice with the same team.

After the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, his sixth season within the Penguins' organization, Kühnhackl was unable to agree to terms on a new contract as a restricted free agent. On 25 June 2018, he was not tendered a qualifying offer and was released to explore the free agent market. On 2 July, as a free agent, he signed a one-year contract with the New York Islanders.^[10]

On 22 January 2021, Kühnhackl joined the training camp of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers,^[11] and was then signed to a one-year contract.^[12]

Following his 11th season in North America, Kühnhackl returned to Europe as a free agent, agreeing to a two-year contract with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL)on 12 August 2021.^[13]

At the conclusion of his two-year tenure with Skellefteå AIK, Kühnhackl returned to his native Germany, agreeing to a three-year contract with Adler Mannheim of the DEL on 2 May 2023.^[14]

Kühnhackl has represented Germany internationally, playing in the World U-17 Hockey Challenge (2008, 2009), the World U18 Championships (2009, 2010), and the World Junior Championships (2011).

He first played for the German senior team in an exhibition game against France on 27 August 2016.^[15] A couple of days later, he scored the game-winning goal in the last game of the qualification tournament for the 2018 Winter Olympics against host Latvia, which gave Germany a place in the Olympics.^[16]

Kühnhackl was born and raised in Landshut, and first began to play ice hockey at age two. His father, Erich, played in the top German leagues from 1968 until 1989 and appeared in five Winter Olympics for West Germany.^[3] He was named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century in 2000. Kühnhackl has been a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team that drafted him.^[17] He got his start in ice hockey at age five, following in his family's footsteps as his brother, sister and father all played the sport in Germany.

Kühnhackl is a supporter of FC Bayern Munich.^[18]

Regular season and playoffs

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Landshut Cannibals	DNL		30	21	21	42	97		3	1	1	2	2
2008–09	Landshut Cannibals	DNL		6	4	3	7	31		7	5	5	10	27
2008–09	Landshut Cannibals	2.GBun		42	11	10	21	34		6	1	0	1	6
2009–10	Landshut Cannibals	2.GBun		38	12	9	21	38		6	0	0	0	2
2009–10	Augsburger Panther	DEL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		63	39	29	68	47		18	11	12	23	10
2011–12	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		4	1	3	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Niagara IceDogs	OHL		30	7	18	25	29		20	6	5	11	14
2012–13	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		11	2	2	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		2	1	0	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		48	8	2	10	22		2	0	0	0	2
2013–14	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		16	7	7	14	12		10	6	0	6	6
2014–15	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		72	12	18	30	19		8	0	2	2	0
2015–16	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		23	7	8	15	18		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		42	5	10	15	24		24	2	3	5	0
2016–17	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		57	4	12	16	18		11	1	1	2	4
2017–18	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		69	2	6	8	6		12	0	0	0	4
2018–19	New York Islanders	NHL		36	4	5	9	10		8	0	3	3	2
2018–19	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		1	2	1	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	New York Islanders	NHL		28	3	3	6	2		3	0	1	1	0
2019–20	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		4	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		22	4	9	13	8		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		46	3	10	13	6		6	0	1	1	2
2022–23	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		32	10	8	18	14		17	2	3	5	0
2023–24	Adler Mannheim	DEL		45	8	13	21	8		7	1	4	5	6
2024–25	Adler Mannheim	DEL		43	10	10	20	18		10	2	0	2	2
NHL totals				232	18	36	54	60		58	3	8	11	10

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International

More information Year, Team ...

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008	Germany	U17	9th		5	4	1	5	2
2009	Germany	U17	6th		5	4	3	7	2
2009	Germany	WJC18	10th		6	1	1	2	4
2010	Germany	WJC18 D1	1st		5	4	2	6	2
2011	Germany	WJC	10th		6	1	0	1	16
2016	Germany	OGQ	Q		3	2	1	3	0
2021	Germany	WC	4th		10	3	2	5	2
2022	Germany	OG	10th		4	1	0	1	2
Junior totals					27	14	7	21	26
Senior totals					17	6	3	9	4

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