New York: 0#NYIvsPIT<\/a> #LetsGoPens<\/a> #Isles<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DQVNhalayd<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Of those 11 games, eight saw him open as a left winger.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like playing different roles, you can see you can actually do your job and be helpful for the team,\u201d Koppanen said. \u201cGetting more games, you feel more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n In his third season with the franchise, Koppanen opted to re-sign with the Penguins in June, a handful of weeks before he would have become an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t appear interested in exploring any other options as a free agent.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a really good talk with (president of hockey operations Kyle) Dubas,\u201d Koppanen said. \u201cAnd the year-ending meetings were really good. I really liked it. And of course, I ended up playing 11 (NHL) games at the end of the year. That helped for this year for sure, a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Brunicke remains<\/p>\n Imagn Images <\/p>\n In nine games this season, Penguins rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke has one goal.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Penguins appeared to reach a decision on rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke on Thursday.<\/p>\n He will likely be a healthy scratch for Thursday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n As far as any other long-term determinations with long-term ramifications for the 19-year-old Brunicke, that remains unresolved.<\/p>\n As a player still eligible to play at the junior ranks, Brunicke has played nine NHL contests so far this season, one short of the league\u2019s limit before the first year of his three-year entry-level contract would formally be activated.<\/p>\n Muse indicated nothing has been determined on that front as of yet.<\/p>\n Fellow junior-eligible rookie forward Ben Kindel has already surpassed that threshold and was slated to open his 13th game Thursday night on the top line as a winger next to franchise center Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n Brunicke and Kindel, 18, have been subject to so-called \u201cdevelopment plans\u201d by management to ensure the teenagers aren\u2019t overextended as they deal with the daily grind of NHL life for the first time.<\/p>\n Those plans have appeared to be altered a bit, however, as injuries have limited the Penguins\u2019 roster options, particularly in Kindel\u2019s case, due to five forwards currently being hobbled.<\/p>\n Muse stressed that those development plans are not set in stone due to a variety of considerations.<\/p>\n \u201cThose plans are always going to be fluid,\u201d Muse said. \u201cYou go through the course of a year, there\u2019s a number of factors that we\u2019re looking at on a regular basis. Each of these guys, they\u2019re similar in terms of they\u2019re both younger players. They\u2019re also different positions. It is different. It is fluid.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to look at things on a regular basis. We will keep going back to what is best for them now and for their future. That hasn\u2019t changed and we\u2019ll continue to be factoring that into any decisions that are being made.\u201d<\/p>\n Pickering heads down<\/p>\n Chaz Palla | TribLive <\/p>\n The Penguins selected defenseman Owen Pickering in the first round (No. 21) of the 2022 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Penguins made a flurry of internal transactions earlier this week, placing handful of players on injured reserve while recalling several others from Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton.<\/p>\n One player going the other way was rookie defenseman Owen Pickering, a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2022. He went back to Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday after being recalled Oct. 28.<\/p>\n Appearing in four NHL contests, Pickering did not record a point and was on the wrong end of a handful of scoring sequences by the opposition before being sent back to Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton.<\/p>\n BOBBY THE MCMANN THAT YOU ARE! Leafs take the lead! ???? pic.twitter.com\/FtFLRkonma<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) November 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Muse noted that Pickering, in his second full season as a professional, is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still a young player, you see getting up and getting that experience,\u201d Muse said. \u201cThe experience that he can now take and bring back to (Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton) and continue to apply to his game, it\u2019s only going to make him better. He obviously had time up (in the NHL last season) as well and it\u2019s been a situation where it\u2019s been a little bit up and down.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think it\u2019s something where (when) a young player comes up and plays those games, if they are going to go back down, I think you really want to make sure you\u2019re taking those experiences that you\u2019ve had here at this level, the lessons you\u2019ve learned and then applying them there. Applying them there in practice, applying them there in games. All these experiences can be good for young players as they continue to build. A goal, not just with (Pickering), but for any young player who comes up and plays games and then goes back down, is just make sure you\u2019re applying it so you\u2019re working here to get here and stay here.\u201d <\/p>\n Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n![\"9024835_web1_2025-10-22t010313z_1831143812_mt1usatoday27384121_rtrmadp_3_nhl-vancouver-canucks-at-pittsburgh-penguins\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9024835_web1_2025-10-22T010313Z_1831143812_MT1USATODAY27384121_RTRMADP_3_NHL-VANCOUVER-CANUCKS-AT-PI.jpeg\"\/ "\\"9024835_web1_2025-10-22t010313z_1831143812_mt1usatoday27384121_rtrmadp_3_nhl-vancouver-canucks-at-pittsburgh-penguins\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"9024835_web1_ptr-pens06-092325\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9024835_web1_ptr-Pens06-092325.jpg\"\/ "\\"9024835_web1_ptr-pens06-092325\\"")
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