Penguins defense prospect Emil Pieniniemi was one of the earlier cuts from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp, assigned to Wheeling in a larger round of cuts on Oct. 5.
Well, he never actually went down there.
Multiple team sources told me on Sunday that Pieniniemi made it known soon after being cut from Wilkes-Barre's camp that he would not be reporting to Wheeling. The team worked with him over the last several weeks in an attempt to find a solution, but with neither side reaching a conclusion, the decision was made to suspend him, a move that retains his rights but doesn't have him on either of their minor-league rosters.
Later on Sunday evening I was able to confirm that Pieniniemi flew home to Finland on Friday of his own accord.
Pieniniemi, 20, is in what is supposed to be his first professional season in North America. The 2023 third-round pick spent last season with the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs, where he scored 10 goals and 50 assists in 60 games.
The Penguins' management and development staff felt as if Wheeling was the best starting point for Pieniniemi based on what he showed in the Prospects Challenge and training camp. Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza have been adamant since taking over that they want Wheeling to be run as a legitimate step in the development process, and that's been evident in the amount of investments poured into the team in hiring new positions and building up the roster with more AHL- and NHL-contracted players than they've had at that level in the past.
Derek Army, who spent time in Wheeling as a player and coach under different general managers, once told me that the difference after Dubas and Spezza came in was clear -- it actually felt like the big club was paying attention to them for once.
The notion that Wheeling isn't being treated as a "dead end" is also evident by the steps prospects like Atley Calvert and Sergei Murashov took despite having to start in Wheeling. Two other defense prospects, Chase Pietila and Finn Harding, are currently in Wilkes-Barre after starting their pro careers in Wheeling at the end of last season.
Daniel Laatsch, another NHL-contracted Penguins draft pick defenseman, was part of that same round of cuts that sent Pieniniemi to Wheeling. Laatsch did report, was a plus-5 in the season opener on Saturday, and has presumably jumped up a spot in the depth chart just by actually showing up to Wheeling and playing.
For Pieninemi, he's still under contract. The possibility exists to loan him to another league while he burns a year (as the Penguins are doing with Mikhail Ilyin in Russia), but in the weeks of attempting to find a solution, that would presumably be something that they already explored.
THE ASYLUM
Pieniniemi suspended by team, returns home
Penguins defense prospect Emil Pieniniemi was one of the earlier cuts from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp, assigned to Wheeling in a larger round of cuts on Oct. 5.
Well, he never actually went down there.
Multiple team sources told me on Sunday that Pieniniemi made it known soon after being cut from Wilkes-Barre's camp that he would not be reporting to Wheeling. The team worked with him over the last several weeks in an attempt to find a solution, but with neither side reaching a conclusion, the decision was made to suspend him, a move that retains his rights but doesn't have him on either of their minor-league rosters.
Later on Sunday evening I was able to confirm that Pieniniemi flew home to Finland on Friday of his own accord.
Pieniniemi, 20, is in what is supposed to be his first professional season in North America. The 2023 third-round pick spent last season with the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs, where he scored 10 goals and 50 assists in 60 games.
The Penguins' management and development staff felt as if Wheeling was the best starting point for Pieniniemi based on what he showed in the Prospects Challenge and training camp. Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza have been adamant since taking over that they want Wheeling to be run as a legitimate step in the development process, and that's been evident in the amount of investments poured into the team in hiring new positions and building up the roster with more AHL- and NHL-contracted players than they've had at that level in the past.
Derek Army, who spent time in Wheeling as a player and coach under different general managers, once told me that the difference after Dubas and Spezza came in was clear -- it actually felt like the big club was paying attention to them for once.
The notion that Wheeling isn't being treated as a "dead end" is also evident by the steps prospects like Atley Calvert and Sergei Murashov took despite having to start in Wheeling. Two other defense prospects, Chase Pietila and Finn Harding, are currently in Wilkes-Barre after starting their pro careers in Wheeling at the end of last season.
Daniel Laatsch, another NHL-contracted Penguins draft pick defenseman, was part of that same round of cuts that sent Pieniniemi to Wheeling. Laatsch did report, was a plus-5 in the season opener on Saturday, and has presumably jumped up a spot in the depth chart just by actually showing up to Wheeling and playing.
For Pieninemi, he's still under contract. The possibility exists to loan him to another league while he burns a year (as the Penguins are doing with Mikhail Ilyin in Russia), but in the weeks of attempting to find a solution, that would presumably be something that they already explored.
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