Harrison Brunicke, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 18-year-old defenseman who turned heads throughout the preseason and made a case to crack the club’s opening day NHL roster, was reassigned to his junior team.
The Penguins announced Monday that Brunicke was sent back to the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
In parts of three seasons with the Blazers, Brunicke has appeared in 108 games, posting 14 goals with 15 assists.
Brunicke, whom the Penguins selected in the second round (No. 44 overall) of this past NHL Draft, practiced with the club Monday in Cranberry.
“We were so encouraged with the training camp that (Brunicke) has had,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Just his progression through the course of camp, his aptitude for picking up some of the things we were trying to coach him on — this is a guy we’re really excited about and feel strongly that he’s going to be an impact player for us.”
This summer, he signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Penguins worth $875,000 annually.
With Brunicke heading back to the junior level, the contract is “slide” eligible, allowing for its term to be delayed.
He appeared in four preseason games, recording one assist with five shots.
Had Brunicke remained with the Penguins, he likely would have rotated into the third pairing or assumed a reserve role.
“The question is,” Sullivan said, “what it in his best interest for the development for his overall game to ultimately get him to that impact aspect? The hockey operations room felt it was the best decision for him to be able to go back to junior and play a significant role in his team and continue to grow his overall game.”
The Penguins must finalize their season-opening roster by 5 p.m. Monday.
From the first game of the season until the annual trade deadline (March 7), rosters are limited to 23 active players.
A flurry of additional roster moves and transactions can be expected Monday afternoon and evening as the Penguins maneuver to get in compliance with the NHL’s approved roster size.
Injuries remain status quo
Sullivan provided an injury update Monday on the group of Penguins players currently out of action.
There are no status changes for forwards Bryan Rust, Matt Nieto, Vasily Ponomarev and Blake Lizotte, as well as goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, none of whom skated Monday.
Nieto continues to rehab from reconstructive MCL surgery and is roughly two months away from a potential return to the ice. Lizotte suffered a concussion Oct. 29 vs. the Ottawa Senators after being struck on the bench by a puck.
Rust and Ponomarev are sidelined with unspecified ailments, as is Nedeljkovic.
Lines and special teams
The Penguins utilized the following lines, defensive pairings and special teams groups Monday in Cranberry:
10 Drew O’Connor – 87 Sidney Crosby – 72 Anthony Beauvillier
8 Michael Bunting – 71 Evgeni Malkin – 67 Rickard Rakell
2 Rutger McGroarty – 20 Lars Eller – 48 Valtteri Puustinen/18 Jesse Puljujarvi
13 Kevin Hayes – 19 Cody Glass – 55 Noel Acciari
24 Matt Grzelcyk – 58 Kris Letang
28 Marcus Pettersson – 65 Erik Karlsson
27 Ryan Graves – 3 Jack St. Ivany
5 Ryan Shea – 45 Harrison Brunicke
First power-play unit: Crosby, Malkin, Rakell, Letang, Karlsson
Second power-play unit: Bunting, Eller, Hayes, Puljujarvi, Grzelcyk
First penalty-kill unit: Pettersson, St. Ivany, Glass, Acciari
Second penalty-kill unit: Graves, Shea, Beauvillier, Puustinen
Note: Forward Boko Imama and defenseman Sebastian Aho cleared waivers Monday. Both are eligible to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
