Penguins assign defenseman Owen Pickering to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman Owen Pickering, their first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in last year’s draft, to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Pickering’s junior team, the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Swift Current Broncos, just completed its season on Saturday and did not qualify for the postseason.
Serving as the Broncos’ captain, Pickering, 19, appeared in 61 WHL games this season and led the team’s defensemen with 45 points (nine goals, 36 assists).
A left-handed shot, Pickering (6-foot-4, 185 pounds) was selected as a Central Division first-team All-Star this season.
Pickering signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins this past July, but it will not begin until he plays his first NHL game or is no longer eligible to play at the junior level.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.