Ville Koivunen Recalled to Penguins Amid Rickard Rakell Wrist Surgery

Pittsburgh issued an emergency recall of forward Ville Koivunen from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after Rickard Rakell underwent wrist surgery that will sideline him an estimated six-to-eight weeks. Rakell was injured when a puck struck his left hand during the Penguins’ Saturday game against the Columbus Blue Jackets; he went right to the bench and down the tunnel and did not return, prompting the roster move as Pittsburgh navigates injuries and deadline transactions.

Koivunen’s form in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton made him an obvious candidate for recall. The Hockey News notes he was second in the AHL in scoring with four goals and 11 points in six games, and he helped WBS to a perfect 7-0 start. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ materials put Koivunen’s broader season totals at 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points in his first season with the club, and they highlighted his AHL Rookie of the Month honor for January after 14 points (9G-5A) in 12 games, including two hat tricks.

Koivunen arrives in Pittsburgh with a recent transaction history that tracks back to March 7, 2024, when the Penguins acquired him from the Carolina Hurricanes in the trade that sent Jake Guentzel to Carolina. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton release also notes Koivunen made his NHL debut on March 30 against the Ottawa Senators and that, in seven games with Pittsburgh, he has gathered five assists. Those NHL totals are not uniform across outlets; The Hockey News described Koivunen as pointless in two NHL games this season while also citing career totals of seven assists in 10 NHL games and 26 goals and 68 points in 81 AHL games. The differing snapshots underline that Koivunen’s exact NHL games-played and assist totals vary between the team release and other reports.

Puck deployment expectation in Pittsburgh is immediate but specific. Practice sheets observed by The Hockey News project Koivunen starting on a third line with Ben Kindel and Tommy Novak, a combination the report says showed chemistry during training camp and in limited regular-season minutes; Novak was noted as heating up over recent games. With Rakell out, The Hockey News predicts Koivunen will have expanded opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level over the coming weeks.

Pittsburgh’s schedule creates a quick test: the Penguins face the St. Louis Blues on Monday and travel to Philadelphia to play the Flyers on Tuesday. Koivunen’s recall, his AHL production (including power-play impact: 13 power-play assists and 17 power-play points in WBS counts), and his entry via the Guentzel trade make him a player to watch as Pittsburgh reshuffles its forward group during Rakell’s recovery.