Penguins suspend Egor Zamula for failure to report to AHL

A player is in a little bit of trouble for his decision-making.

Per multiple reports, the Pittsburgh Penguins have suspended defenseman Egor Zamula for failing to report to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Zamula became a member of the Penguins organization on New Year’s Eve, when he was part of the one-for-one trade that saw the Philadelphia Flyers trade the 25-year-old to Pittsburgh for forward Philp Tomasino.

Zamula had already been in the AHL with the Flyers’ primary affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Since he cleared waivers earlier in December, the Chelyabinsk, Russia native had played three games with the Phantoms, posting two assists with a plus/minus of -3.

The undrafted rearguard had been a pretty consistent presence in the Flyers’ lineup for the first few weeks of the season, but has been a healthy scratch a lot of the time for the past couple of months. He last appeared in a game on Dec. 7 in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He has a plus/minus of +4 while averaging just over 14 minutes per game. Zamula has appeared in 13 games so far, posting an assist back on Oct. 20, when Philadelphia came away with a 5-2 win at home over the Seattle Kraken.

In 168 NHL regular-season games, Zamula has scored eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points. In 130 AHL contests, he has posted five goals and 51 assists for 56 points.

Prior to turning pro, Zamula had been a solid blueliner for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League, even scoring 56 points in 61 games during the 2018-19 season. He’s also represented his country on multiple occasions, including helping Russia take home the silver medal at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he was named one of the top three players on his team.