Frederik Tiffels Signs with Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Thursday that they have signed Western Michigan junior forward Frederik Tiffels to a two-year entry level contract. Tiffels was a sixth round selection of the Penguins in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Tiffels was eighth on the Broncos in scoring last season with 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 37 games played. In his three years in Kalamazoo, he posted 59 points in 105 games.

Heading into the 2015 NHL Draft, we compared Tiffels to a current Penguin in Carl Hagelin, for his game-changing speed.

The best comparison to Tiffels would be New York Rangers forward Carl Hagelin. Both players are smaller, but have elite speed that they use to put pressure on the opposing defense and create offense, and play a responsible two-way game. Hagelin and Tiffels even had very similar statistics in their first NCAA season.

Tiffels offensive production in the NCAA didn’t quite improve the way Hagelin’s did, so the chances of him becoming Hagelin 2.0 for the Penguins aren’t as high, but it gives some idea to the style of play Tiffels will bring, and how he will be productive in the Penguins system.