It Begins: Bemstrom Recalled
What will likely become a steady stream of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins loading up their car and making the drive across the state to join the Pittsburgh Penguins began Thursday afternoon.
As Pittsburgh Hockey Now noted Thursday morning, Emil Bemstrom was recalled Thursday as forward Matt Nieto cleared waivers.
The move became official not long before 6 p.m., marking the official start of moving deserving players from the AHL to the NHL. Otherwise, there was no reason to waive Nieto (and not much reason to play him, either).
Bemstrom was an offensive driver for the WBS Penguins this season. His first recall was for the final two games before the Four Nations Face-Off break. At the time, Bemstrom was the AHL’s second-leading scorer.
Bemstrom is scoreless in his first two games, but that matters less than his arrival. However, Bemstrom won’t be in the lineup Thursday as the Penguins face the Philadelphia Flyers. Instead, gritty forward Boko Imama will take a fourth-line spot.
Categorized:Penguins Penguins News
Happy for Bemmer. The minutes are better spent on Bemmer and giving some Quad-A guys a final chance while we ride the landslide for the remainder of this year.
As PHN has said, let Koivunen, McGroarty and the folks we know will be up next year try and win a championship and play meaningful games. No need to rush them.
Can give a shot to Bemmer, Poulin, Puustinen or any guys who we would consider not bringing back next year (though Bemmer doesn’t fall in to that category and am very happy for his success this year).
Is it really the beginning? He was with them prior to the break and played 2nd and 3rd lowest minutes on the team. Now he is scratched tonight.