The Landshut, Germany native won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships with the Penguins (2016 and 2017). In each of his three seasons with Pittsburgh, Kuhnhackl reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring seven points (three goals and four assists) in 47 games.
Drafted in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft, Kuhnhackl played four seasons in the American Hockey League with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring 59 points (29 goals and 30 assists) and a registering a +19 rating in 154 games. The 6'2, 196-pound wing played in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, earning two assists.
Kuhnhackl played two years of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Windsor Spitfires and the Niagara IceDogs. He averaged a point per game in the OHL, 97 points (47 goals and 50 assists) in 97 games.