Penguins forward prospect Jan Drozg loaned to HK Olimpija Ljubljana

Penguins forward prospect Jan Drozg has been loaned to HK Olimpija Ljubljana, a team based in his native Slovenia that plays in the Alps Hockey League.

Drozg, 21, was a fifth-round pick of the Penguins in 2017 (No. 152 overall) and played his first full professional season in 2019-20, splitting time between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and Wheeling of the ECHL.

In 32 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Drozg had eight points (five goals, three assists). With Wheeling, he appeared in 24 games and scored 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists).

According to a release on the team’s website (translated from Slovenian), the Penguins have the option of recalling Drozg when the NHL’s 2020-21 season opens. Drozg would likely be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

While the NHL is in the midst of its offseason because of the coronavirus and won’t open its 2020-21 season until Jan. 1 at the earliest, several leagues in Europe have already been playing for weeks.

“The situation is really special,” Drozg said in the translated statement. “I haven’t had matches since March, I don’t train like I used to. It is also still unknown when I will be able to return to America. It was necessary for me to start training as soon as possible and, if possible, to play matches at a ‘replacement’ club.”

Entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract, Drozg is the fourth player under contract the Penguins have loaned to a team in Europe.

Forwards Kasper Bjorkqvist (KooKoo of Finland’s Liiga), Radim Zohorna (BK Mlada Boleslav of the Czech Republic’s ELH) and defensemen Jesper Lindgren (Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan) are also playing for European squads.

Forward Pontus Aberg, an unsigned restricted free agent, is currently a member of Traktor Chelyabinsk of Russia’s KHL.

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