Penguins assign forward Alex Nylander to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
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Forward Alex Nylander’s first recall to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ NHL roster was a brief excursion.
On Thursday, the Penguins assigned Nylander to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. This transaction comes two days after he was recalled to the NHL level and made his debut with the NHL club.
During a 5-4 home overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Nylander opened the contest on the third line and was eventually promoted to the second line. He recorded an assist on the Penguins’ second goal of the contest by forward Jason Zucker. In total, he logged 14 minutes, 56 seconds of ice time on 21 shifts, had two shots on five attempts and lost the only faceoff he took.
Zucker’s second goal was generated in part by Nylander forechecking Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Boqvist and causing a turnover during the third period.
“I just tried to forecheck (Boqvist) there,” Nylander said after an optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. “Got a good little hit on him. And (linemate Evgeni) Malkin had a great play there finding Zucker. Just trying to stay on reading the play a little bit and also moving my feet to be a disturbance for (the opposition) to try to break out. I think I’m a pretty good forechecker.”
A first-round pick (No. 8 overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, Nylander has largely struggled to gain traction at the NHL level. In January 2022, the Penguins acquired him via a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, and for most of the past 14 months, he has refined his game — particularly on defense —to find another avenue to the NHL.
“I know what I can do offensively,” said Nylander, 25. “But the (defensive) zone, just trying to really focus on those areas, getting those important pucks out and being (support) for our (defensemen) and all that kind of stuff. That’s been really smooth that year, and it’s been going really well. I’m just happy with the way it’s been going this year.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer with 50 points (25 goals, 25 assists in 54 games this season, Nylander was recalled Tuesday under emergency conditions due to the absences of forwards Mikael Granlund (illness) and Bryan Rust (personal matters). With each of those players available for Thursday’s home game against the Islanders, Nylander was returned to Northeast Pennsylvania.
But that doesn’t mean his time with the club has come to an end.
“I thought he had a strong game (against Columbus), and he certainly is a talented player,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s had a real good year for Wilkes, and we’re encouraged by his progress.”
Nylander is signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $750,000. He is a pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.