Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen has been added to Finland’s A national team roster as an injury replacement for the upcoming Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) tournament in Czechia in May.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced Puustinen’s inclusion via a release on Monday. He replaces forward Lauri Pajuniemi who is sidelined due to an undisclosed injury.
This tournament between Czechia, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland serves as something of a preliminary event for those countries leading into the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship tournament, also held in Czechia during May.
Players in the EHT tournament can be selected for their country’s roster for the IIHF World Championship tournament.
The EHT tournament is scheduled to be held May 2-5 while the IIHF World Championship tournament is slated for May 10-26.
Breaking through as a full-time NHLer this season, the 24-year-old Puustinen appeared in 52 games and posted 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) while averaging 11:45 of ice time per contest. He also played in 24 American Hockey League games and scored 13 points (five goals, eight assists) with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Puustinen has previously played for Finland on the international stage, most recently playing in 2021 IIHF World Championship. In two games that year, he had no points.
He will join Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi, who was previously selected to Finland’s A national team roster for the EHT event, while Penguins forward Radim Zohorna was selected for Czechia’s roster.
Additionally, Penguins defensemen Erik Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson were already tabbed for Sweden’s roster for the IIHF World Championship tournament.
Penguins assistant coach Ty Hennes was named to the United States’ staff for the IIHF World Championship.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at [email protected].
