When Declan Carlile signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh on the first day of free agency, his family was thrilled.<\/p>\n
Mostly because the 26-year-old defenseman is living his dream and being rewarded after a strong 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n
But they are also pretty excited to have a use for all of the Penguins gear around their house.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents were like, we don’t even need to buy anything. We have so many hats and hoodies and things from growing up!\u201d Carlile said. \u201cIt was pretty funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Declan\u2019s dad Kevin is from Ontario and served in the Canadian Air Force. His mom Tina was in the U.S. Army. They met during joint training in Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula, got married and started a family, raising Declan and his two brothers Kiernan and Owen in a town called Hartland in the Lower Peninsula.<\/p>\n
With Kevin\u2019s Canadian roots, he introduced his sons to hockey, where they grew their love for the game on a backyard rink. They had several Ontario Hockey League teams within driving distance, so Kevin would take them to games to watch up-and-coming prospects. But despite being about an hour from Detroit, the Red Wings weren\u2019t their favorite National Hockey League club.<\/p>\n
\u201cKiernan was a huge Penguins fan growing up,\u201d Declan said. \u201cWe used to drive out here to watch games when we were young. I remember coming in and seeing the bridge and just kind of being around the arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then obviously, we’d go to Detroit games with Penguins jerseys on, so that was never good for us [laughs]. My fianc\u00e9 posted one when I signed here. There’s actually one hanging up in my basement at home. We were watching them when I was, like, little little. It\u2019s kind of a cool full-circle moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the biggest reasons the Carlile boys loved the Penguins was of course, Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he scored the Golden Goal, I was 10. That was cool. When I watched them win the Cup in \u201809, my dad set up a projector screen in our living room,\u201d\u00a0Declan said. \u201cKiernan ended up falling asleep when they won, lifting the Cup. And I remember we had to wake him up, and he was all pumped up, and he fell right back to sleep. Those were just some small things that were pretty funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their younger selves would be ecstatic to know that\u00a0Declan would one day become teammates with the likes of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It was an added bonus of joining the Penguins after Carlile spent the first five years of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.<\/p>\n
The Bolts had signed Carlile as an undrafted free agent out of Merrimack College. Before last season, he played primarily in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I wanted to make it to the\u00a0NHL, but I knew that there were steps to take before I got there,\u201d Carlile said. \u201cI think I just went in with an open mind and tried to learn every day. I think they really preached that in Tampa, which is cool. The staff down in Syracuse. (Head Coach) Joel Bouchard, he pushes you, but in a good way. It makes you want to come in every day and do well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That handful of years Carlile spent growing and developing left him ready to seize his opportunity when it presented itself early last season. The Lightning had an influx of injuries on the blue line, and needed someone to step in and step up.\u00a0Carlile did, saying he had built trust and confidence in himself and his game. From there, he never looked back.<\/p>\n