Penguins Reassign Koivunen, McGroarty to WBS Ahead of Playoff Push

Pittsburgh reassigned forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a specific condition tied to both moves: each player must appear in an AHL game before becoming eligible for an NHL recall. WBS faces the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this weekend, making the timing immediately relevant.

Forward Joona Koppanen was also sent to WBS as part of the roster shuffle.

Koivunen, the 21-year-old Finnish forward acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade with Carolina, has been the standout performer of the two this season. His 21 goals and 34 assists in 62 AHL games lead WBS in scoring. For a player completing his first full North American season, the output is striking. He arrived as a 2021 second-round pick of the Hurricanes before Pittsburgh landed him as part of the Guentzel deal last spring.

McGroarty came to Pittsburgh last summer from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for 2023 14th overall selection Brayden Yager. The 2022 14th overall pick had a difficult start to his first professional season, going scoreless in three NHL appearances before posting a single assist in his first eight AHL games. The turnaround since November 9 has been sharp: 14 goals and 24 assists across 52 AHL games, production that reflects the talent that made him a lottery pick two years ago.

WBS enters the stretch run with considerable momentum, having clinched its Calder Cup playoff berth with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Getting Koivunen and McGroarty back on the ice against Lehigh Valley this weekend gives one of the youngest rosters in the league two of its best offensive weapons at precisely the moment they are needed most.