The Penguins added another body to their continually growing list of injured players Wednesday as it was announced that rookie forward Filip Hallander would be sidelined on a day-to-day basis because of an undisclosed ailment.

He joins a full house of other convalescing players, including forward Noel Acciari, currently on injured reserve with an undisclosed malady.

Hallander and Acciari are each regular presences on the team’s penalty kill, while Acciari is one of the Penguins’ leading faceoff specialists, winning 60.4% of his draws.

As a result, the Penguins recalled veteran forward Joona Koppanen from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

Typically deployed as a middle-six center with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Koppanen has experience on the penalty kill.

He opened Thursday’s home contest against the rival Washington Capitals on the left wing of the fourth line, and Connor Dewar moved from the left to right wing, Acciari’s typical role.

“Koppanen is a guy who has killed penalties in the past,” coach Dan Muse said after an optional morning skate Wednesday in Cranberry. “And he’s done a very good job with it, too. It also gives you another faceoff option there. It gives you faceoff options on the penalty kill (also).

“Sometimes, when we’re looking at different options that are there, (and) someone’s coming out, it’s also guys that can come in here and fill in different roles. Definitely something that gets looked into.”

Koppanen, 27, had something of a small breakthrough as an NHLer last season when he skated in a career-best 11 NHL games and scored his first career NHL goal.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Joona Koppanen with 15:20 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kris Letang.

Pittsburgh: 1New York: 0#NYIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Isles pic.twitter.com/DQVNhalayd

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 18, 2025

Of those 11 games, eight saw him open as a left winger.

“I feel like playing different roles, you can see you can actually do your job and be helpful for the team,” Koppanen said. “Getting more games, you feel more comfortable.”

In his third season with the franchise, Koppanen opted to re-sign with the Penguins in June, a handful of weeks before he would have become an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.

He didn’t appear interested in exploring any other options as a free agent.

“I had a really good talk with (president of hockey operations Kyle) Dubas,” Koppanen said. “And the year-ending meetings were really good. I really liked it. And of course, I ended up playing 11 (NHL) games at the end of the year. That helped for this year for sure, a lot.”

Brunicke remains

Imagn Images In nine games this season, Penguins rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke has one goal.  

The Penguins arrived at a decision on rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke on Thursday.

He was a healthy scratch against the Capitals.

As far as any other long-term determinations with greater ramifications for the 19-year-old Brunicke, that remains unresolved.

As a player still eligible to play at the junior ranks, Brunicke has played nine NHL contests so far this season, one short of the league’s limit before the first year of his three-year entry-level contract would formally be activated.

Muse indicated nothing has been determined on that front as of yet.

Fellow junior-eligible rookie forward Ben Kindel has already surpassed that threshold and opened his 13th game Thursday night on the top line as a winger next to franchise center Sidney Crosby.

Brunicke and Kindel, 18, have been subject to so-called “development plans” by management to ensure the teenagers aren’t overextended as they deal with the daily grind of NHL life for the first time.

Those plans have appeared to be altered a bit, however, as injuries have limited the Penguins’ roster options, particularly in Kindel’s case, due to five forwards currently being hobbled.

Muse stressed that those development plans are not set in stone because of a variety of considerations.

“Those plans are always going to be fluid,” Muse said. “You go through the course of a year, there’s a number of factors that we’re looking at on a regular basis. Each of these guys, they’re similar in terms of they’re both younger players. They’re also different positions. It is different. It is fluid.

“We’re going to continue to look at things on a regular basis. We will keep going back to what is best for them now and for their future. That hasn’t changed, and we’ll continue to be factoring that into any decisions that are being made.”

Pickering heads down

Chaz Palla | TribLive The Penguins selected defenseman Owen Pickering in the first round (No. 21) of the 2022 NHL Draft.  

The Penguins made a flurry of internal transactions earlier this week, placing handful of players on injured reserve while recalling several others from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

One player going the other way was rookie defenseman Owen Pickering, a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2022. He went back to Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday after being recalled Oct. 28.

Appearing in four NHL contests, Pickering did not record a point and was on the wrong end of a handful of scoring sequences by the opposition before being sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

BOBBY THE MCMANN THAT YOU ARE! Leafs take the lead! ???? pic.twitter.com/FtFLRkonma

— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) November 4, 2025

Muse noted that Pickering, in his second full season as a professional, is still a work in progress.

“He’s still a young player, you see getting up and getting that experience,” Muse said. “The experience that he can now take and bring back to (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) and continue to apply to his game, it’s only going to make him better. He obviously had time up (in the NHL last season) as well and it’s been a situation where it’s been a little bit up and down.

“But I think it’s something where (when) a young player comes up and plays those games, if they are going to go back down, I think you really want to make sure you’re taking those experiences that you’ve had here at this level, the lessons you’ve learned and then applying them there. Applying them there in practice, applying them there in games. All these experiences can be good for young players as they continue to build. A goal, not just with (Pickering), but for any young player who comes up and plays games and then goes back down, is just make sure you’re applying it so you’re working here to get here and stay here.”

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