The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins have given German forward Frederick Tiffels his first professional contract. The move follows a strong showing at the world ice hockey championship in Germany last month.The Pittsburgh Penguins executive vice president and general manager, Jim Rutherford announced on Thursday that the reigning Stanley Cup champions have signed Frederick Tiffels,22, on a two-year, entry level contract.
The 6-foot, 192-pound (183 cm., 87 kg.) Tiffels, who the Penguins selected 167th overall in the 2015 NHL entry draft, spent his past three seasons with the Western Michigan Broncos, scoring a total of 27 goals and 32 assists in 105 career games.
Tiffels, who had been virtually unknown in Germany prior to last month’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologneand Paris, played his way into coach Marco Sturm’s squad through his performances in the training camp and pre-tournament friendlies. During the world championship, Tiffels took a regular shift for Germany, scoring two goals.
Tiffels is expected to start the coming season with Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He is the second German player to join the Penguins organization, after Tom Kühnhackl, who was part of the NHL team that won the Stanley Cup the last two seasons running.
