With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.
Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.
This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Position: Left winger
Shoots: Left
Age: 27
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 179 pounds
2025-26 NHL regular season statistics: One game, zero points (11:01 of ice time)
2025-26 AHL regular season statistics: 66 games, 39 points (21 goals, 18 assists)
2025-26 AHL postseason statistics: Three games, one point (zero goals, one assist)
Contract: Signed to a one-year two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. Pending restricted free agent on July 1
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July, 2, 2025
This season: While the Penguins have been in the midst of a youth movement, particularly as it pertains to their depth below the NHL roster, for a few seasons, that doesn’t mean management doesn’t place value on its minor league affiliates being competitive.
As such, they have stocked the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a handful of veterans who are proven performers at the American Hockey League level who can also offer leadership on and off the ice.
That’s what led to the team signing Rafael Harvey-Pinard, who had spent the first five years of his professional career with the Montreal Canadiens, primarily at the AHL level.
One of the final cuts from the Penguins’ training camp, Harvey-Pinard cleared waivers Oct. 5 and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, remaining there for the bulk of the season.
Harvey-Pinard showed a great deal of malleability by playing both wings on the top three lines and on the power play for the duration of the campaign.
While several of the Penguins’ forward prospects, such as Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, were routinely shuffled between the NHL and AHL rosters, Harvey-Pinard was a steady and durable presence in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster, appearing in 66 of 72 games.
Finishing third on the team in goals with 21, Harvey-Pinard was second on the squad with three game-winning scores.
Knock knock HP’s at the back door! pic.twitter.com/UnufvnRaZ6
— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 22, 2026
Harvey-Pinard was recalled to the NHL roster on two occasions over the season. The first came on Jan. 10, but after being a healthy scratch for two games, he was returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The team recalled him again April 14 and he made his debut with the NHL Penguins that day before being sent back to Northeast Pennsylvania.
Harvey-Pinard opened the postseason on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ top line for the team’s first three playoff games but has been sidelined for the past four contests due to an undisclosed injury.
The future: If he can recover, Harvey-Pinard will presumably slot right back into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top line for however long that team remains in the postseason.
Looking long term, he could very well be one and done. Assuming he has aspirations of finding steadier works as an NHLer, he will likely need to sign with another team as a pending unrestricted free agent.
Then again, given how his career has tracked — i.e., he has played far more in the AHL than the NHL — he might just be a “4A” player who is only summoned to an NHL roster when injuries create openings.
Either way, Harvey-Pinard aptly filled his role this season.