Luke Pietila signs with Green Bay Gamblers, earns U.S. Hlinka Gretzky Cup spot

Green Bay added a 2009-born Michigan forward whose résumé already reaches Wisconsin, Team USA and the Gamblers’ 2026-27 roster. Luke Pietila signed a Standard Player Agreement with Green Bay on June 18, and the transaction moved him from the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 16U AAA to the USHL club on June 19.

The question around Pietila is which version arrives first: a college cornerstone for Wisconsin or an impact scorer in the USHL. Recruiting accounts listed the Northville, Michigan forward at 98 points in 64 games for Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 16U AAA, and another post put him at 31 goals and 39 assists the previous season with Honeybaked 15U AAA. Those numbers help explain why Green Bay moved to secure him before the 2026-27 season.

Pietila had already earned national-team attention a year earlier. USA Hockey named him to the 23-player U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, staged Aug. 11-16 in Brno, Czechia, and Trenčín, Slovakia. The U.S. went 3-1-0-1 and beat Sweden for its first championship at the event since 2003.

The Wisconsin commitment also deepens a family link in Madison. Todd Milewski noted that Pietila is the brother of Wisconsin forward Adam Pietila, who was entering his third year at the University of Wisconsin. That gives Green Bay a player whose next step can ripple through the Gamblers’ scoring picture, Wisconsin’s pipeline and the U.S. development ladder at the same time.