Blake Pietila

Blake Pietila
Blake Pietila
Born	February 20, 1993 (age 33); Milford, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Professional ice hockey player (retired)
Years active	2015–2021
Known for	Playing for New Jersey Devils in the NHL

Blake Chester Pietila (born February 20, 1993) is a retired American professional ice hockey left winger who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils selected Pietila in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Family

Pietila's grandfather was originally from Finland. Additionally, Blake has a brother who is also involved in playing hockey.

Playing career

With Finnish heritage on his grandfather's side, Pietila played college hockey at Michigan Tech, competing in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Following a four-year tenure culminating in the 2014–15 season where he served as team captain, he inked a two-year entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils on May 27, 2015.

During his first professional campaign in 2015–16, Pietila began with the Albany Devils, New Jersey’s affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). He made his NHL debut on March 24, 2016, facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins and netted his inaugural NHL goal on March 31, 2016, against the Florida Panthers.

On July 26, 2017, New Jersey extended Pietila’s contract for two years on a two-way agreement valued at $1.335 million overall. After four seasons within the Devils organization, he agreed to a one-year two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks on July 2, 2019. That season saw him play exclusively for their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls, where he tallied 12 goals and accumulated 24 points across 49 games before the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the season.

Entering free agency amid the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Pietila accepted a professional tryout contract with the Hershey Bears of the AHL on February 8, 2021.

Regular season and playoffs

| 2018–19 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | 2019–20 AHL season | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 49 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 20 | | 2020–21 AHL season

			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 AHL season	Binghamton Devils	AHL	60	12	10	22	26
2017–18 NHL season	New Jersey Devils	NHL	2	0	0	0	0
2018–19 AHL season	Binghamton Devils	AHL	50	20	26	46	42
Hershey Bears	AHL	6	0	1	1	8	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			38 !1 !3 !4 !12 ! — ! — ! — ! — ! —

International

2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge United States World U17 Hockey Challenge Template:Gold1 6 1 0 1 2 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships United States IIHF World U18 Championships Template:Gold1 6 1 0 1 0 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships United States World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Template:Gold1 7 0 2 2 0

Year	Team	Tournament	Outcome		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
colspan="4" Junior totals	19	2	2		4	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
Collegiate
All-WCHA Third Team	2014–15

External links