Penguins assign forwards Tristan Broz, Danton Heinen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forwards Tristan Broz and Danton Heinen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Sunday.
Broz, a rookie, was recalled to the NHL roster on Monday and made his NHL debut on Wednesday in a 4-2 home win against the Buffalo Sabres. Opening the contest as the third line center, Broz logged 11:30 of ice time on 15 shifts and had two shots.
The 21-year-old was a healthy scratch for the team’s two most recent games, a 4-2 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and a 7-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
At the AHL level, Broz has been productive. Primarily skating as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top center, Broz leads that team in goals (eight) while generating 13 points overall in 18 games.
A second-round draft pick (No. 48 overall) in 2021, Broz is in the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $925,000.
Heinen, 30, has split the 2025-26 campaign between the NHL and AHL rosters. After clearing waivers on Oct. 3, Heinen was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Largely deployed as a top-six center with that club, Heinen led the AHL in scoring with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 10 games by the time he was recalled to the NHL club on Nov. 4.
That production has not translated to the NHL level. Primarily operating as a bottom-six winger with some time on the second power-play unit, Heinen has appeared in nine NHL contests and recorded a single assist while averaging 12:15 of ice time.
Heinen is in the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit $2.25 million. With his assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, $1.15 million of his salary cap hit will come off the books for the NHL club per league rules.
Following these transactions, the Penguins now have 21 active players on the NHL roster, two short of the NHL limit of 23. That figure includes rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who is currently with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment.
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.
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