Pittsburgh Penguins top prospect and ex-Winnipeg Jet Rutger McGroarty is starting to ramp up the production at the AHL level On Wednesday night in Toronto, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins [https://www.wbspenguins.com/] forward Ville Koivunen [https://theahl.com/stats/player/9649/86/ville-koivunen] scored his first AHL hat trick in a 6-3 triumph over the Toronto Marlies. Fittingly, the 21-year-old, drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (51st overall) in 2021, scored the game's first and last goals. He opened the scoring at 1:48 and tied the contest at 2-2 at 13:19 of the first. Koivunen finished the evening with an empty net goal in the third at 18:45, capping off a four-point night. In addition, the Penguins got two goals from Filip Kral [https://theahl.com/stats/player/8672/86/filip-kral] and one from Emil Bemstrom [https://theahl.com/stats/player/8950/86/emil-bemstrom], who were named the team's lone representative at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic in February. Koivunen was named the game's first star, followed by Kral and Bemstrom. It was his first North American hat trick and the first one since Mar. 23, 2024, when he played with Kärpät in Liiga. Wednesday night marked the third professional hat trick of Koivunen's career, as he scored his first one on Jan. 26, 2023, on a brief call-up with Kärpät. Thus far, Koivunen, in his first AHL season, has ten goals and 27 points in 30 games and is second in team scoring behind Bemstrom. The Penguins remain in second place in the AHL Atlantic Division [https://theahl.com/stats/standings], four points behind the Hershey Bears with a 19-8-3-0 record and 41 points. Their Canadiens road trip continues on Friday night against the Belleville Senators. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
