Penguins’ Rust activated from IR; Koivunen assigned to AHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Saturday that forward Bryan Rust has been activated off Injured Reserve (IR). They also announced that forward Ville Koivunen has been assigned to Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Rust, 33, hit career highs in all offensive categories in 2024-25, scoring 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 71 regular-season games. It was the first time Rust hit the 30-goal and 60-point marks of his career.

Through 11 NHL seasons, Rust, a native of Pontiac, Mich., has 203 goals and 234 assists for 437 points in 638 career regular-season games. He’s also appeared in 79 playoff games, scoring 21 goals and recording 14 assists for 35 points. He was part of the Penguins’ two Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.

Rust, taken by the Penguins in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, spent four seasons in the NCAA with the University of Notre Dame. In 161 career games, he scored 43 goals and 54 assists for 97 points.

Meanwhile, Koivunen is in just his second NHL season, appearing in eight games in 2024-25 and recording seven assists. He spent most of last year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring 21 goals and recording 35 assists for 56 points in 63 regular-season games.

Taken in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Koivunen was acquired by Pittsburgh, along with Michael Bunting, Cruz Lucius, Vasili Ponomaryov and two conditional 2024 draft picks in exchange for Jake Guentzel and Ty Smith.

The Penguins finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 34-36-12 record with 80 points, seventh in the Metropolitan Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference and 11 points back of a Wild Card playoff spot. It was the third consecutive year Pittsburgh missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They will host the New York Rangers Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET.