Penguins Affiliate Off To Successful Start

The Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a disappointing start to the 2023-24 season, with the worst record in the Eastern Conference through nine games. The same can't be said for their AHL affiliate, however. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are 4-4 through their first eight games, and while they have had some ups and downs already, they look like a far more balanced team than their NHL counterpart.

As the organization enters November, let's take a deeper look into the Baby Penguins and their first two weeks of action. 

Blomqvist Blooming

The 2020 second round pick of the Penguins finally made it to the AHL for his first full season in North America. Joel Blomqvist is the top goaltending prospect and arguably the top prospect in the organization.

With an injury to back-up Alex Nedeljkovic, Magnus Hellberg has been given the call to the NHL. Blomqvist has been forced to step into the starter role in Wilkes-Barre. Through six games, he carries a 3-2 record, with a .915 save percentage and a 2.08 goals against average. His game already looks much further ahead than anticipated, with even more room to grow. He will continue to get at least a split of the games, if he doesn't take over starting duties altogether as the season progresses. 

Injury Bug in Wilkes-Barre

One area of concern already for the AHL team is injuries. Only eight games into the season, two of their top prospects are dealing with ailments and will be out on a week-to-week basis. Both Valtteri Puustinen and Sam Poulin are out for the next group of games, the former with an upper-body injury and the former with a lower-body injury.

Neither player was off to a particularly hot start to their seasons, and this setback will further hold both players from making an impact at the AHL or NHL levels. 

Stat Leaders

Wilkes-Barre is currently paced offensively by forward Sam Houde. The 23-year-old is a former Montreal draft pick and has been in the organization since 2021. He has two goals and four points in five games, leading the team with six points. 

Rem Pitlick, part of the trade that brought Erik Karlsson to PIttsburgh, is the scoring leader for the Baby Penguins with three goals. All three of those tallies have come on the power play. 

Defensively, Ty Smith is carrying the weight. Leading the team's power play and playing the most minutes, he's logged four assists in eight games. 

Up Next

Up ahead for the Baby Pens are matchups against their rivals, the Hershey Bears (affiliate for the Washington Capitals), and the Belleville Senators (affiliate for Ottawa).