Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Pustinen has been added to the Finland A national team as an injury replacement for the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) tournament in the Czech Republic in May.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced Puustinen's membership in a release on Monday. He replaces forward Lauri Pajuniemi, who is sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
The tournament, which will be played between the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, will serve as a preliminary event for these countries in the run-up to the next International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship tournament, which will also be held in the Czech Republic in May. playing a role.
Players in the EHT tournament can be selected to their country's roster for the IIHF World Championship tournament.
The EHT tournament will be held from May 2nd to 5th, and the IIHF World Championship tournament will be held from May 10th to 26th.
This season, the 24-year-old Pustinen made the leap as a full-time NHLer, appearing in 52 games, recording 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) and averaging 11 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time per game. He also appeared in 24 American Hockey League games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists).
Puustinen has previously represented Finland on the international stage, most recently at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. In two games that year he had no points.
He will join Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi, who was previously selected for the Finland A national team squad for the EHT event, while Penguins forward Radim Zohorna was selected for the Czech squad.
Additionally, Penguins defensemen Erik Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson were already listed on Sweden's squad for the IIHF World Championship tournament.
Penguins assistant coach Ty Hennes has been named to the U.S. National Team for the IIHF World Championship.
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Seth Lorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. The North Huntingdon native joined the Tribe in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. Contact him at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
