With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason for a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 56 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with Noel Acciari and going on through to Philip Tomasino (regrettably, there is no Z on the payroll), every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published Mondays through Saturdays leading up until June 24, four days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Ville Koivunen

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Left

Age: 21

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 172 pounds

2024-25 NHL statistics: Eight games, seven points (zero goals, seven assists), 18:07 average ice time per contest

2024-25 AHL regular season statistics: 63 games, 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists)

2024-25 AHL postseason statistics: Two games, two points (zero goals, two assists)

Contract: In the second year of a three-year, entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $805,833. Pending restricted free agent in 2026

(Koivunen does not require waivers to be assigned to a minor league affiliate.)

Acquired: Trade, March 7, 2024

This season: When he swung the blockbuster deal that sent All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2024 trade deadline, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas was optimistic on the return.

Especially one part of it.

Ville Koivunen.

“Koivunen, we have ranked extremely high in (Carolina’s) prospect pool,” Dubas said the day after the trade. “Koivunen was one of the players we were targeting, just in our evaluations.”

In his first full season in North America, the Finnish-born Koivunen more than validated the high hopes Penguins management placed in him.

After recording two assists in three preseason games, Koivunen was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Oct. 4 and it didn’t take long for him to get acclimated to his new surroundings. In his first game of the season, he put up three assists during a 7-6 home loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Oct. 12, opening that contest on the right wing of the second line.

Emil Bemstrom ‼️ pic.twitter.com/pn60u6jLq4

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 12, 2024

While fellow forward prospect Rutger McGroarty was slow to produce as he adjusted to the professional game, Koivunen, who previously played professionally in Finland, was reliable in his production over the course of the season, never going more than four consecutive games without a point.

The high point of his season came during a 9-0 home win against the rival Hershey Bears on Jan. 29 when he tied a single-game franchise record with four goals.

Goal #️⃣4️⃣ on the night for 4️⃣1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/0FmG942f94

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) January 30, 2025

His play remained steady until the last weeks of the regular season, when he was recalled to the NHL roster on March 28 along with McGroarty.

Immediately placed in a top-six role, Koivunen also found a home on the top power-play unit. Perhaps most profoundly, he and McGroarty were entrusted with ice time late in a road game against the St. Louis Blues on April 3. With the Penguins trailing by a goal in the late stages of regulation, Koivunen retrieved a puck and set up McGroarty for the game-tying goal at 19:35 of the third period.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Rutger McGroarty with 00:25 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Ville Koivunen and Erik Karlsson.

St. Louis: 4Pittsburgh: 4#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/GcN0ucon9Q

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

(The Penguins lost the contest, 5-4, in overtime.)

After McGroarty suffered a season-ending injury to his left foot April 8, Koivunen was teamed on a line with franchise center Sidney Crosby and the two found chemistry almost instantly. That cohesion led to Koivunen finishing the season with a five-game scoring streak at the NHL level.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Bryan Rust with 12:41 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Sidney Crosby and Ville Koivunen.

Pittsburgh: 2Washington: 1#WSHvsPIT #LetsGoPens #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/421FdqCR6z

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 18, 2025

Returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on April 18, Koivunen, who was named to the AHL’s all-rookie team, picked up another assist in that team’s regular season finale one day later, a 3-0 home win against the Cleveland Monsters.

Appearing in each of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s postseason games, Koivunen collected two assists.

The future: Just given his strong first season with the organization — including his productive stint at the NHL level — and the limited options the Penguins have going into this offseason, it’s hard to envision Koivunen not getting an immediate look with the NHL club to open next season.

While his size is always going to be a concern, Koivunen already looks very poised playing the game on smaller rinks than he grew up skating on in Finland. And while the Pittsburgh Penguins were far removed from being a playoff contender when he was recalled, the demands of inhabiting prominent roles next to Crosby in five-on-five sequences or the power play did not overwhelm him.

The true test for Koivunen will be trying to navigate the low moments over the course of an 82-game grind of a regular season at the NHL level.

Regardless, he has already provided hope for the Penguins.

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