The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve Thursday afternoon, several hours ahead of their 10 p.m. puck drop in Seattle vs. the Kraken.
In a related transaction, fellow forward Jonathan Gruden was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Shortly before the start of Thursday’s game with the Kraken, Gruden was formally assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Rust’s designation follows news recently revealed by coach Mike Sullivan that the 31-year-old winger is out week-to-week with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained Feb. 25 during a home game against Philadelphia.
Through 42 games, Rust contributed 18 goals and 18 assists while skating regularly as the club’s first-line right wing with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, the latter of whom is on long-term injured reserve.
He is not traveling with the Penguins on their current four-game road trip, which kicked off Tuesday night in Vancouver with a 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks.
Gruden, a 23-year-old rookie, has been recalled four previous times this season from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leading to appearances in five games with the Penguins.
He has averaged 7 minutes, 20 seconds of ice time in those contests with no points.
In 41 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Gruden has contributed 13 goals with 10 assists.
A left-handed shot, Gruden primarily has factored in on several iterations of the Penguins’ fourth line during his time in Pittsburgh.
He most recently earned a recall Feb. 15, skating for 7:18 against the Chicago Blackhawks that night before being sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton three days later.
Gruden made his NHL debut with the Penguins last year, playing in three total games.
He has yet to record an NHL point in eight career games.
It’s been a bit of a different story in the AHL, however, as through 202 games played, all with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Gruden has produced 45 goals and 50 assists.
