Penguins Prospect Ville Koivunen Gets AHL Honor

Ville Koivunen drew headlines last month with a four-goal game for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 9-0 beatdown of the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears.

Koivunen, 21, also had a hat trick in January as he adjusts from the larger ice surface in his native Finland to the smaller North American rinks. The adjustment seems to be kicking into high gear.

Wednesday, Koivunen was named AHL Rookie of the Month for January.

Koivunen potted nine goals and five assists for 14 points in 12 games during January, including his two hat tricks.  The first hatty was on Jan. 8 against the Toronto Marlies. His four-goal performance against Hershey was on Jan. 29.

Koivunen now leads all AHL rookies with 36 points (15-21-36). He becomes the fourth Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player to earn Rookie of the Month honors. Previous Rookie of the Month recipients were goaltender John Curry in December of 2007, Jake Guentzel in December of 2016, and Daniel Sprong in December of 2018.

The Penguins acquired Koivunen as part of a three-prospect haul with a second-round pick, a fifth-rounder, and forward Michael Bunting for Jake Guentzel near the 2024 NHL trade deadline.