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.)
Daniel Laatsch
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 191 pounds
2025-26 AHL regular season statistics: 10 games, three points (zero goals, three assists)
2025-26 ECHL regular season statistics: 29 games, 11 points (three goals, eight assists)
2025-26 ECHL postseason statistics: seven games, two points (zero goals, two assists)
Contract: In the first year of a two-year, entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $935,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2027
(Laatsch does not require waivers for any assignment to a minor league affiliate.)
Acquired: Seventh-round draft pick (No. 215 overall), July 24, 2021
This season: The act of simply playing hockey this season was something of a small victory for the not-so-small Daniel Laatsch.
In January of 2025, his senior season at Wisconsin came to a premature conclusion when he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip.
Signing his entry-level contract on March 10, 2025, Laatsch rehabilitated his injury over the summer, entered training camp and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sept. 27 before being assigned to Wheeling on Oct. 5.
By Oct. 18, he played his first game in more than 10 months and made his professional debut by recording two assists in a 5-3 road win against the Cincinnati Cyclones.
Only nine days later, Laatsch was recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and appeared in four games, primarily on the left side of the third pairing, before an undisclosed injury he suffered Nov. 8 sidelined him for the better part of a month.
Sent back to Wheeling on Dec. 3, Laatsch skated in five games for the Nailers before being recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once again on Dec. 11. After five games with the AHL Penguins, Laatsch suffered another undisclosed malady Dec. 27 that wound up keeping him off the ice for six weeks.
Returned to Wheeling on Feb. 5, Laatsch enjoyed a career milestone two days later when he scored his first career professional goal during a 6-0 home win against the Cyclones.
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Laatsch largely remained a consistent presence in the Nailers’ lineup until March 28, when another injury sidelined him once again for nearly a month.
When Wheeling opened the Kelly Cup playoffs on April 24, Laatsch rejoined the lineup and helped the Nailers beat the Reading Royals in an opening round series, but was only in the lineup for two of the team’s final 12 games of the postseason.
The future: As a seventh-round draft pick, Laatsch was always going to be facing an uphill battle to reach the NHL. And that hill got even steeper with all the injuries he endured throughout his first professional season.
When healthy, Laatsch is a defensive-minded blueliner who uses his stick to break up offensive chances and even mixes in some physicality.
But his health really betrayed him last season. If he had not been hobbled so often, he might have even played more games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As it was, injuries largely stunted his first professional season.