The Pittsburgh Penguins activated forward Bryan Rust from injured reserve a handful of hours before a home game against the New York Rangers.
In a corresponding transaction to make room on the active roster, rookie forward Ville Koivunen was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
Rust opened the season on injured reserve due to an undisclosed ailment he suffered during a practice session in Cranberry on Oct. 1 and has missed the team’s first two games of the regular season.
Typically deployed on the top line and with both special teams units, Rust set career highs in goals (31) and points (65) last season while skating in 71 games.
“I feel good,” Rust said following an optional morning skate in Cranberry on Saturday. “I’m excited to go. It’s been a long offseason. Anxious to start playing some meaningful hockey.”
Koivunen has gotten off to a slow start to open the season. In two games, he has no points and two shots while averaging 13:26 of ice time per contest.
During Thursday’s 4-3 home win against the New York Islanders, Koivunen was moved from the first line to the third line in the third period.
Assigning Koivunen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was one of the few transactions available to the Penguins that would allow Rust to rejoin the active rosters.
Koivunen does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate. A veteran could be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but would need to be exposed to waivers, a process that would have needed to be enacted on Friday and given 24 hours to fully play out. As it was, Rust’s medical status was not fully known until Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke and forward Ben Kindel can be returned to their junior teams, the Kamloops Blazers and Calgary Hitmen, respectively. But in the event of that type of transaction, Brunicke and Kindel could not return to the NHL club until their junior teams’ seasons are completed.
