The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Dmitri Samorukov to a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Per a release from the team, the contract carries a prorated salary cap hit of $775,000, the NHL minimum.
Previously signed to an American Hockey League (AHL) contract on July 31, Samorukov came to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp in September and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Sept. 28. He appeared in one preseason NHL game and did not record a point while registering two shots.
Opening the regular season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the left-handed Samorukov (pronounced: sa-muh-ROO-kahv) has played in all 15 of that team’s games and has five points (one goal, four assists).
He is still assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster.
A native of Volgograd, Russia, the 24-year-old Samorukov (6-foot-3, 188 pounds) was a third-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2017 NHL Draft. In three career NHL games — one with the Oilers in 2021-22 and two with the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23 — Samorukov has no career points.
According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins now have 48 players signed to NHL contracts for this season, two short of the NHL limit of 50.
