Penguins defense prospect Emil Pieniniemi is on his way back from Finland and will report to Wheeling, Kyle Dubas confirmed to me here at PPG Paints Arena tonight.

The Penguins tried assigning Pieniniemi to Wheeling out of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp, but he refused to report and eventually returned to Finland, prompting the team to suspend him. The team made clear at the time that they would not budge on their plan to have him start in the ECHL -- first, because they genuinely believed it was the best place for him to start for his development, but also out of fairness to the prospects like Finn Harding, Chase Pietila, Sergei Murashov and others who did report to Wheeling with a good attitude and earned their way up to the AHL. Because Pieniniemi was unable to sign with a European team while he has an active NHL contract, the two sides were at an impass.

The Penguins said that Pieniniemi has been training while home in Finland, but because he hasn't played in games, won't get right into Wheeling's lineup once he reports. The plan is for him to practice for the next couple weeks, then get into games after Christmas.

Despite the messy situation, the Penguins say that Pieniniemi has been good to deal with and has a good attitude, and is excited to get to Wheeling.