The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled forward Jonathan Gruden from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Sunday.
A left-handed shot, Gruden has appeared in 32 AHL games this season and has scored 16 points (11 goals, five assists). Primarily deployed as a center, Gruden has been on a productive stretch as of late with seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past five games.
This is the 22-year-old Gruden’s first in-season recall to an NHL roster in his professional career. A fourth-round (No. 95 overall) selection of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018 draft, Gruden was acquired by the Penguins via a trade in October of 2020 that sent former starting goaltender Matt Murray to Ottawa. Gruden has spent each of the previous two seasons exclusively with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
A native of Rochester, Mich., Gruden (6-foot, 190 pounds) is the son of former NHL defenseman and current Boston Bruins assistant coach John Gruden.
No corresponding transactions were announced.
During a 2-1 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, fourth-line forward Danton Heinen did not record a shift beyond the 9:14 mark of the second period. No word on his status was offered following the contest.
