Out of the blue, the Penguins had a fairly eventful day, personnel-wise, ahead of their return to action on Friday night against the Wild.
Rookie forward Ville Koivunen has been placed IR. He’ll be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
With a pair of assists and no goals in 11 games, the youngster experienced his struggles at the big-league level this season. This on the heels of an impressive cameo with the Pens last spring, not to mention a piping hot stretch with the Baby Pens before his latest recall.
In his stead, the club summoned forward Sam Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The rugged 213-pounder is currently leading the Baby Pens in scoring with 15 points, including seven goals.
On a personal level, I couldn’t be happier for the Blainville, Quebec native. I never had the sense Poulin was ever afforded much of an opportunity under former coach Mike Sullivan (13 games spread over three seasons). Not being the swiftest skater, Sam simply wasn’t a Sully-type player.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to find his niche under new skipper Dan Muse. Among his attributes, an ability to play and even thrive in traffic.
As for waiving Philip Tomasino? I confess, I’m a bit surprised at the relatively quick hook, especially since the former 24th overall pick appeared to be the poster child for the type of player Kyle Dubas was seeking to acquire. That is, younger players with some pedigree who’ve shown flashes elsewhere, but for whatever reasons hadn’t panned out.
However, occasional flashes were about all Tomasino ever showed in the ‘Burgh. After tallying three goals and an assist in his first five games with the black and gold, he managed just eight goals and 20 points over his next 54 games with the Pens, including a lone assist in nine games this season.
This on the heels of a decent training camp and preseason where he displayed a little more aggression when it came to crashing the net.
We’ll see if another team rolls the dice on him. After all, Tomasino’s still young, only 24.
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Pittsburgh will regret not giving tomasino regular chance to succeed .. every young player has had a chance to play in the top six except for him.. the other rookie has 2 points in 11 games ? Keeping Mantha and Hayes over a young player is terrible Management by Dubas!