The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled 20-year-old defenseman Owen Pickering from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday morning ahead of a 7 p.m. road puck drop vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Pickering, the Penguins’ first-round (No. 21 overall) draft pick two years ago, would be in line to make his NHL debut.
Friday’s transaction represents his first NHL call-up.
A 6-foot-5, 200-pound left-handed shot, Pickering has appeared in 12 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his first full season in the AHL.
He has one goal with a plus-5 rating.
Pickering also played eight AHL games toward the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
In the summer of 2022, he signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Penguins worth $950,000 annually.
Following two “slide” years, in which contract’s term length was delayed due to Pickering playing junior hockey with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League, his entry-level deal formally began this season.
Pickering, a native of St. Adolphe, Manitoba, Canada, rose to the captaincy of the Broncos in 2022-23 and 2023-24, scoring 27 career goals with 99 assists in 182 games.
After skating with many of the club’s fellow top prospects in mid-September during the 2024 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, N.Y., Pickering joined the Penguins at their annual preseason training camp, during which time he impressed coach Mike Sullivan with his improved physique, stickwork and leadership qualities.
