Penguins Loading AHL Roster for Playoffs

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PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins may have missed their chance at competing in the playoffs, but both their minor league affiliates did. The AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers are participating in their respective postseasons after outstanding years.

As the new president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas did a tremendous job of making sure those teams not only had talent but were competitive and could compete for championships. With the AHL postseason about to kick off, the WBS Penguins have been loading up with talent.

When the Penguins’ season ended, multiple players were moved from the NHL to the AHL roster. Not long after that, forward prospect Tristan Broz signed his entry-level contract and joined the WBS Penguins.

Most recently, with various seasons around the world coming to an end, the Penguins added more young reinforcements to the AHL roster.

The WBS Penguins announced that forwards Ville Koivunen and Cooper Foster, as well as defensemen Owen Pickering and Emil Pieniniemi, will all join the squad in time for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Penguins acquired Koivunen as part of the deal that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. Set to play his first games in the Penguins organization, Koivunen is coming off of a fantastic season with Karpat of the Finish Liiga. In 59 regular season games, he scored 22 goals and 56 total points.

In 12 postseason games, Koivunen surpassed a point per game, wrapping with five goals and eight assists for 13 points.

Pieniniemi also played on Karpat’s blue line this season, appearing in 37 regular season games and 10 in the playoffs. The Penguins selected Pieniniemi in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft. This will be his first run in the Penguins organization.

During his end-of-season press conference, Dubas stated that whichever team lost between the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos, a top prospect would head to the AHL team. Brayden Yager’s Warriors defeated the Broncos in five games of the WHL conference semi-finals.

The Broncos’ loss turned into the Penguins’ gain, as Owen Pickering will join the AHL squad for his second stint on the roster. Since being drafted in the first round in 2022, Pickering has been one of the Penguins’ top-ranked prospects.

Foster is making the jump to the Penguins organization after his Ottawa 67’s lost in the OHL’s conference semi-finals. Foster is also a recent draft pick from the 2023 draft, taken by the Penguins in the sixth round.

In 59 games this past season, Foster scored 21 goals and 31 assists for 52 total points.

It will be interesting to see how the Penguins decide to break down their roster now that an influx of prospects is joining, but win or lose, it’s a big time for each player. Dubas appears to be leaving the door wide open for young prospects to fight for NHL roles in 2024-25, and their battle is starting in the AHL Playoffs.

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