The penguins’ season starts Wednesday night against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena, and the team is shaping up its final roster with a number of transactions.
Yesterday, the Pens lost defenseman Jon Ludvig to the Colorado Avalanche on a waiver claim. They were able to retain six others who will be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, including former number one draft choice Sam Poulin, along with highly-regarded forward Jonathan Gruden, forwards Emil Bemstrom and Joona Koppanen, and defensemen Nate Clurman and Filip Kral.
A number of top prospects were not required to be exposed to waivers and were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday, including former number one draft pick defenseman Owen Pickering and forwards Ville Koivunen, Tristan Broz, and Corey Andonovski.
Meanwhile, defenseman Erik Karlsson says he will be ready to play on Wednesday night in the season opener. He was a full practice participant on Saturday, taking contact for the first time after skating in a non-contact jersey in his first practices Thursday and Friday. As for the opener, Karlsson said after practice, “It’s looking like that’s going to happen.” He still did not disclose what the injury was that kept him out of practice for most of the preseason, attributing it to “wear and tear” from working out too hard over the summer. “The goal was always to play the first game of the season. It’s looking like we’re going to accomplish that with ease.”
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