Penguins Prospect Watch: Kasper Bjorkqvist returns to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
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A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past seven days:
• In the American Hockey League (AHL) forward Kasper Bjorkqvist rejoined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after being on loan to KooKoo of the Liiga, the top-tier league in his native Finland. Rejoining the Penguins’ lineup on Wednesday, he was held without a point during a 6-3 home win against the Binghamton Devils.
A second-round pick (No. 61 overall) in 2016, Bjorkqvist, 23, is in the second year of a two-year entry-level contract with the Penguins.
• On Saturday, forward Jonathan Gruden had an empty-net goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a 4-1 home win against Binghamton.
Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in an October trade, Gruden, 21, is in the first year of a three-year entry-level contract.
• On Sunday, forward Josh Currie had a goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a 6-2 road loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
A free agent signing this past offseason, Currie, 28, is signed to a one-year, two-way contract.
• In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) postseason, forward Sam Poulin scored two goals and led the Val-d’Or Foreurs to a 6-2 home win against the Rimouski Oceanic on Friday in Game 1 of a quarterfinal series.
A first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in 2019, Poulin, 20, is signed to a three-year entry-level contract that has yet to begin.
• In Game 2 of the series, forward Nathan Legare scored the game-winning goal for Val-d’Or which defeated Rimouski, 3-0, on Saturday. Val-d’Or leads the best-of-seven series, 2-0.
A third-round pick (No. 74 overall) in 2019, Legare, 20, is signed to a three-year entry-level contract that has yet to begin.
• In the Western Hockey League (WHL), forward Lukas Svejkovsky missed the Medicine Hat Tigers’ season finale on Thursday, a 3-0 home loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, due to an undisclosed injury.
A fourth-round pick (No. 108 overall) in 2020, Svejkovsky, 19, has yet to sign with the Penguins.
• On Thursday, the Penguins signed forward Valtteri Puustinen to a two-year entry-level contract that will begin in the 2021-22 season.
A seventh-round pick (No. 203 overall), the 21-year-old Puustinen spent the 2020-21 season with HPK of the Liiga in his native Finland. In 51 games, he had 41 points, including 21 goals, the eighth-best total in the league.
Statistics
(Players currently on the NHL roster and taxi squad are excluded.)
Forwards and defensemen
Goaltenders
*-Current team
(All figures are through Sunday.)