It wasn’t the easiest question to answer off the cuff.

Surrounded by a mob of reporters Friday in Cranberry during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ end-of-season interviews, Ville Koivunen was asked what he made of his first taste of the NHL, which notably included high-profile deployments next to future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

But the 21-year-old forward from Oulu, Finland, did his best to encapsulate the experience.

“I think it went pretty well,” Koivunen said. “It was a lot of fun to play a lot of minutes, use my strengths and, of course, I had pretty good linemates there, too. So it was a lot of fun.

“I was pretty amazed when I saw the lineups and saw where I was going to play. It was pretty unbelievable. When you watch (Crosby and Malkin), you learn a lot if you want to and, of course, they helped me a lot. It was pretty fun.”

If Koivunen was intimidated by skating next to Malkin and then Crosby in his first NHL games, he didn’t show it on the ice.

Joining the Penguins for their final eight games of the season, Koivunen looked like he belonged, injecting youth and energy into the lineup and contributing seven assists (three on the power play).

Koivunen averaged 18 minutes, 7 seconds of ice time and saw heavy action on the power play (his 2:40 per game trailed only Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell).

Through Malkin missed Koivunen’s first two NHL contests March 30 and April 2, they were linemates for the next three games once Malkin returned from injury.

Koivunen, the key prospect acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade for Jake Guentzel in March 2024, finished the campaign skating with Crosby on the first line for parts of four games, stepping in for fellow rookie Rutger McGroarty when the latter suffered an injury April 8.

Koivunen had points in six of the eight games he appeared in, ending the season with a five-game point streak.

Koivunen also appeared to have scored his first NHL goal in the Penguins’ finale April 17 against the Washington Capitals, but it was waved off when a review showed he pushed the puck into the net with his hand.

4-game assist streak for Koivunen with this one on the power play. What an entry into the big league for him. He is making it look smooth and effortless from the start.pic.twitter.com/RSld22DJnG

— Pens Prospects (@pensprospects_) April 13, 2025

ERIK KARLSSON SCORES HIS 200TH CAREER GOAL! ???? pic.twitter.com/ZcJ9kI0P3p

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 9, 2025

“One thing that is evident to us is he has a real high hockey IQ,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has a quiet confidence about him, he has a maturity to his game, especially his offensive game, and we’ve seen that from the very first shift that he played. He’s not afraid of the moment.

“When you play in the top six, when you play with (Crosby or Malkin) and someone with star power like that, that can be very intimidating for a young player. One of the things we observed is that it didn’t faze him. … That’s a great sign.”

Sullivan often points out the vast difference in speed between the NHL and American Hockey League when discussing the acclimation process for young players.

Being able to navigate the pace that characterizes the best hockey league in the world as it pertains to skating, stick and puck skills and decision-making constitutes a hurdle prospects who hope to establish themselves as NHLers must hurdle.

Koivunen, an All-Star at the AHL level who led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring during the regular season (21 goals, 35 assists in 63 games), offered encouraging signs of being able to do all of the above.

“He’s obviously a skilled young player,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “He’s getting more confident out there, building chemistry with guys and starting to figure the game out, which is obviously what you’re looking for. I think his potential to be a playmaker in this league is very high. … He’s figured out how to play with the big boys. It’s fun to see.”

Koivunen’s immediate future will be spent with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as he was reassigned to the AHL club April 18 for its upcoming Calder Cup playoffs appearance.

Following Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s win over the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday, which completed the regular season, the Penguins will face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a three-game, first-round series beginning Wednesday.

With Koivunen in the lineup after his NHL recall, the Penguins went 5-2-1 to close out the season.

But his efforts and individual success couldn’t undo a season’s worth of dysfunction and inconsistency, resulting in the Penguins missing the playoffs for the third straight year.

While he still has meaningful hockey to play this season in the minors, Koivunen should be strong a candidate to compete for an NHL roster spot when the Penguins begin their 2025-26 preseason training camp.

“He’s a great kid,” Sullivan said. “He loves hockey, he’s got really good offensive instincts, he’s got a real high hockey IQ and he has some swagger to him. He plays with moxie, and that’s what you need to play in this league.”

Note: Koivunen is signed through 2025-26, when he’ll complete the final year of a three-year entry-level contract worth $805,833 annually that he originally signed with the Hurricanes.

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