{"id":594495,"date":"2026-04-19T22:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T22:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594495\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T22:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T22:58:10","slug":"penguins-rookie-ben-kindel-continues-to-show-maturity-and-a-physical-nature-as-a-teenager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594495\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins rookie Ben Kindel continues to show maturity and a physical nature as a teenager"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Kindel wasn\u2019t planning any kind of grand celebration for his 19th birthday Sunday.<\/p>\n

After all, he has to get to work on Monday as an employee of the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, a big game tomorrow,\u201d the rookie third-line center said. \u201cProbably keep it pretty chill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kindel and the Penguins will face the rival Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Monday at PPG Paints Arena. As for Game 1, a 3-2 home loss for the Penguins, Kindel made a little bit of history on the last day of his 18th year on this planet.<\/p>\n

He joined forward Jordan Staal (18 years, 213 days) and Richard Park (18 years, 346 days) as the only players to make their postseason debuts for the Penguins as an 18-year-old. Staal broke through in the 2007 postseason, while Park joined the club during the 1995 playoffs.<\/p>\n

Beyond the footnote, Kindel displayed some boldness fairly early in Game 1 when Penguins-Flyers became \u2026 well \u2026 Penguins-Flyers just 1 minute, 53 seconds into regulation.<\/p>\n

Kindel\u2019s linemate, Elmer Soderblom (6-foot-8, 252 pounds), skated into the offensive zone offside and an official whistled play dead. A few (too many) seconds after the whistle, Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (6-foot-4, 208 pounds) gave an unsuspecting Soderblom a shoulder check, sending him sprawling to the ice.<\/p>\n

Without hesitation, Kindel (5-11, 182) shoved the rugged Ristolainen, who wound up with a roughing penalty after the sequence.<\/p>\n

Rasmus Ristolainen on nyt pelannut Stanley Cupin playoffeissa! Nostaa t\u00e4ss\u00e4 G\u00f6teborgin Elmerin sein\u00e4lle juhlan kunniaksi. Playoff-Risto pic.twitter.com\/Wxj9XLvG89<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jouni Nieminen ???????????????? (Dont forget ????????) (@OnsideWithJouni) April 19, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

Seeing 18-year-olds play in Stanley Cup playoff games is uncommon. Seeing them go after much bigger players is rarer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter your size or the size difference,\u201d Kindel said. \u201cNo matter what, you\u2019ve just got to play bigger than you are and engage physically and not back down. That\u2019s important to show you\u2019re strong, show the other team that you\u2019re not going to back down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kindel\u2019s intrepidness does not go unnoticed by his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 100% shows that he\u2019s bought in and shows that everyone else is bought in,\u201d defenseman Ryan Shea said. \u201cA guy like that doing it when it\u2019s usually the other side that we\u2019re trying to protect him (from) as much as possible. I\u2019ve grown to learn that he\u2019s a pretty feisty kid when it comes down to it. So, maybe he doesn\u2019t need that much protection as I thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game, I feel like he\u2019s always in the scrum. It\u2019s pretty special because it shows everyone else that if a guy like that at that age can do that, then everyone else can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone gets to play in the NHL at 18 (or now, 19). But not everyone has had the blend of exuberance with temperance that Kindel has offered in his first professional season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy, 19-year-old and putting up (35) points in the NHL,\u201d said the 29-year-old Shea. \u201cI was a sophomore in college (at Northeastern). So, I was living life as a true 19-year-old. Not living life like \u2018Kindy\u2019 is living like right now. It\u2019s crazy when you see it\u2019s his birthday, and he\u2019 s only 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got two more full years until he\u2019s 21. It feels like it\u2019s a mile away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kindel isn\u2019t looking that far ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cCame to the rink, it was a regular day today,\u201d Kindel said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to get the job done tomorrow and execute tomorrow. That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow\u2019s a new day, a new game. It\u2019s a long series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: <\/p>\n

\u2022 The Penguins\u2019 lines and pairings during a practice session in Cranberry were: <\/p>\n

59 Egor Chinakhov – 87 Sidney Crosby – 17 Bryan Rust <\/p>\n

18 Tommy Novak – 67 Rickard Rakell – 71 Evgeni Malkin <\/p>\n

25 Elmer Soderblom – 81 Ben Kindel – 39 Anthony Mantha <\/p>\n

19 Connor Dewar – 46 Blake Lizotte – 55 Noel Acciari <\/p>\n

28 Parker Wotherspoon – 65 Erik Karlsson <\/p>\n

49 Sam Girard – 58 Kris Letang <\/p>\n

5 Ryan Shea – 75 Connor Clifton <\/p>\n

7 Ilya Solovyov – 3 Jack St. Ivany <\/p>\n

\u2022 Forwards Justin Brazeau and Kevin Hayes operated as reserves. Defensemen Ryan Graves and Jake Livanavage worked out on an auxiliary rink with a team staffer. <\/p>\n

\u2022 The top power-play unit included Crosby, Karlsson, Malkin, Rakell and Rust. The second unit included Chinakhov, Kindel, Letang, Mantha and Novak. <\/p>\n

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