After Tom Sestito was handed a four-game suspension for his actions in Wednesday night’s Penguins-Jets game, Pittsburgh has decided to call up Oskar Sundqvist from the AHL to replace him. He’ll likely get into the lineup when they take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight.
Sundqvist was a third-round pick of the Penguins in 2012, and made his NHL debut for the club last season. In his 18 game stint, he scored just four points. A different story at the AHL level though, Sundqvist uses his size and strength to create scoring chances and has recorded 39 points in 53 games this season. He ranks third on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in goals, behind Jake Guentzel—who scored 21 in 33 games before getting the call to play with Sidney Crosby—and Tom Kostopoulos.
It’s the first call up of the season for the 22-year old forward, but he’ll get a good chance to stick for a while. Patrick Hornqvist remains out with a concussion for the time being, and Sundqvist could fit his role admirably. Carl Hagelin and Scott Wilson are also banged up, meaning this call up is probably a signal that the young forward is about to get another shot at the NHL. Remember he even suited up for two playoff games last spring, though was held scoreless in both.