The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Daniel Laatsch to a two-year entry-level contract, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
The contract will begin in the 2025-26 season and run through the ’26-27 campaign.
Laatsch, 23, has spent the 2024-25 season as an alternate captain for the University of Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA). Through 22 games this season, the 6-foot-5, 182-pound defenseman has posted two goals, three assists and five points. Over the course of his four-year collegiate career from 2021-25, Laatsch has played 126 games, scoring six goals, 20 assists and 26 points.
Laatsch’s best season with Wisconsin came during the 2023-24 NCAA season, where he was an integral part of a team that finished with a 26-12-2 overall record and a 16-7-1 record in the Big Ten Conference, only behind Michigan State (16-6-2). During this season, Laatsch posted career highs in goals (2), assists (9), points (11), and finished with a team-high plus-17 rating. Their team record led them to an appearance in the 2024 NCAA D1 Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, where they ultimately fell to Quinnipiac in the first round.
Prior to his collegiate career, the Altoona, Wisconsin native played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League during the 2020-21 season where he scored 19 points (2G-17A). Laatsch is also a product of the US National Team Development Program, spending two seasons from 2018-20 with the program and scoring 14 points (4G-10A).
Laatsch was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the seventh round (215th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
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