The Penguins added three of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's top performers from its first three games of the season to the taxi squad on Friday.
Forwards Josh Currie and Jordy Bellerive were recalled to the taxi squad, along with goaltender Emil Larmi, general manager Ron Hextall announced.
Forwards Anthony Angello and Fredrick Gaudreau, along with goaltender Max Lagace, were re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre to create room and finally get some playing time of their own this season.
Currie, 28, is in his first year in the Penguins' organization and was named Wilkes-Barre's captain earlier this month. He has two goals in three games to start the season, and his dangerous shot on the power play is one of the reason's Wilkes-Barre ranks No. 6 in the league on the man advantage.
"I pride myself in a full 200-foot game," Currie said in training camp. "I try to contribute in both ends, in the offensive and defensive zones. I like to work hard. My work-ethic is kind of what's gotten me where I am today. And I enjoy being on the power play, like most players do. That's definitely one of my favorite areas. I'm just going to be a hard-working player day-in and day-out, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether that's in faceoffs, penalty kill, PP, I'm just willing to do whatever it takes and lead by my work ethic."
Bellerive, 21, is in his second professional season and also has two goals in three games to start the season.
"You know, he's picked up a step in the offseason," Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest told me of Bellerive after the season-opener. "He's always had that grit, that hard-style of playing. And now he's just on guys quicker. He still has the same mentality, he's just got a little faster step to his game. He just never quits. He's a nice guy to have in the lineup, for sure."
Bellerive, too, said that he's picked up speed this season.
"Without a doubt, this is the fastest I've ever been in my career," he said. "I'm really excited about that."
Larmi, 24, has started all three games for Wilkes-Barre and has posted a 3.66 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage, although his performances have been better than those numbers may suggest.
"Our guys are playing confidence knowing he's going to make the save," Forrest said after the second game of the season. "We just have to do a better job of cleaning up some of the other opportunities for him. He's been real dependable, we like what we see."
Larmi's shown great growth with his confidence and managing the mental side of his game, remaining camp and steady after he allows a goal. One of his focuses this year is finding more balance in the aggressive side of his game.
"I think my game, it's getting more calm, relaxed," he told me. "I know it used to be really aggressive, and sometimes it would be too much. It's just trying to find the right balance with those things. I think I learned from that, but in the end I still want to be me and play like how I play. There's always the tiny piece of aggressive style. I just want to try to find the right balance."
Lagace, Angello, and Gaudreau will have the opportunity to play their first games of the season while in Wilkes-Barre. Wilkes-Barre is next in action on Saturday afternoon in Hershey.