Drew O’Connor headlines group of young players going up to Buffalo
The Penguins have released their first preseason game lineup ahead of tomorrow night’s matchup in Buffalo.
Star players and other key figures usually don’t appear early in the exhibition schedule, and even lesser so when it’s a road game. NHL rules mandate a certain number of players with regular season games last year, so Pittsburgh will send up Drew O’Connor, Valtteri Puustinen, Cody Glass, Jesse Puljujarvi, Emil Bemstrom, Ryan Graves, John Ludwig and Ryan Shea to join a cast of mostly younger and inexperienced players for the early road exhibition contest.
Rutger McGroarty, Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen and Tristan Broz all get the nod, and following being the core of a successful Prospects Tournament last week have played their way into what could be some meaningful opportunities.
Tomorrow’s roster for our preseason game in Buffalo is here!
Details and game information ⬇️ https://t.co/wliKWE6tYY
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 20, 2024
From the team:
Below is the Penguins’ lineup for Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins’ official flagship radio station, 105.9 ‘The X’.
GOALIES
30 – Joel Blomqvist
31 – Filip Larsson
DEFENSEMEN
4 – Nathan Clurman
5 – Ryan Shea
7 – John Ludvig
27 – Ryan Graves
45 – Harrison Brunicke
57 – Philip Waugh
81 – Mac Hollowell
FORWARDS
2 – Rutger McGroarty
10 – Drew O’Connor
11 – Vasily Ponomarev
16 – Jimmy Huntington
18 – Jesse Puljujarvi
19 – Cody Glass
26 – Tristan Broz
41 – Ville Koivunen
48 – Valtteri Puustinen
52 – Emil Bemstrom
74 – Tanner Howe
84 – Atley Calvert
85 – Avery Hayes