Penguins Recall Three (or Puusti Rides Again)
The 2024-25 NHL season, or what’s left of it, refuses to go quietly into the night for our Penguins. With a scant three games remaining on our regular-season docket and our forwards dropping like proverbial flies, the Pens dipped into their farm system and made three emergency recalls.
Forwards Emil Bemström, Vasily Ponomarev and Valtteri Puustinen (pictured) are the summonees. Barring any unforeseen occurrences, they’ll play out the string with the big boys.
It’ll be the second stint with the parent club for Bemström and Puustinen, the third for Ponomarev. The 22-year-old Muscovite skated in three non-descript games with the Pens in November and a fourth just prior to the 4 Nations Faceoff. He failed to register a point.
In 54 games with the Baby Pens, Ponomarev produced a healthy 15 goals and 40 points.
Puustinen, 25, opened the season with the black-and-gold. After notching a goal in his third game, Puusti’s ice time gradually dwindled ahead of a late November demotion. The peppery winger’s been a consistent offensive threat in Wilkes with 16 goals and 35 points in 47 games, including a recent four-game goal-scoring streak.