Seeing NHL regulars sent to the AHL as part of their rehab process is a new style for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A rare practice from the Pittsburgh Penguins has become a bit more commonplace under the management style of Kyle Dubas.

Through the early portions of the 2023-24 season, the Penguins have sent multiple NHL-level players to the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for conditioning stints.

Alex Nedeljkovic and John Ludvig were the first pair to see the AHL this year, and P.O. Joseph is on the WBS roster right now and preparing for his first game action in over a month.

Each of these players were sent to the AHL as a way to get ready for NHL action after missing significant time with their own injuries.

Nedeljkovic missed time with a lower-body injury and made the most of his one game stint by scoring his third career goal in professional hockey.

Ludvig played in two games after suffering a concussion in his NHL debut.

It’s not clear how long Joseph will be playing with the WBS Penguins, but they’re set to kick off back-to-back contests this weekend.

Head coach Mike Sullivan said that the team isn’t necessarily looking for anything specific from Joseph in his conditioning stint, rather just get him some ice time before throwing him back into an NHL lineup.

“We just think he hasn’t played in a while,” Sullivan said. “We want to get him some games rather than throw him right into an NHL game where he hasn’t played in so long.”

While sending players to lower leagues is nothing new in sports like hockey and especially baseball, but this is a different way of operating for the Penguins.

“We think it makes sense,” Sullivan said. “We think it sets guys up for success. That’s one of the great benefits of having an American League team.”

One thing each of these three players have in common, however, is seeing regular time in the AHL in pretty recent history.

Nedeljkovic struggled at the NHL level last year and saw significant time with the Grand Rapids Griffins last year.

Ludvig made his NHL debut this season after parts of three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch and the Charlotte Checkers.

Joseph’s first full season in the NHL came last year after three years of growth with the WBS Penguins.

Each of the guys sent for conditioning have a familiarity with the AHL and in the case of Nedeljkovic and Ludvig, came back to the Penguins lineup with great success.

Nedeljkovic looks like the best backup the Penguins have had in a long time and Ludvig continues to get a huge push from the coaching staff.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with Joseph upon his return.

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