Penguins forward prospect Ville Koivunen doesn't feel pressure (yet)

Ville Koivunen acknowledges there is pressure in being one of the prospects the Pittsburgh Penguins received in a blockbuster trade that sent popular All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes in March.

But he doesn’t feel it.

At least not right now.

Especially because it’s July.

“No, I don’t feel the pressure yet,” Koivunen said. “It’s summer. Maybe when the season starts, maybe then. But not yet.”

The hopes are ample for Koivunen as he takes his first steps with the Penguins. Even beyond the weighty expectations that come in being part of such a trade, Koivunen raised the bar for his projections after a potent 2023-24 campaign playing in his native Finland.

As a 20-year-old — he just turned 21 on June 13 — Koivunen was prolific while playing against battle-hardened veterans in the Liiga, Finland’s top league this past season.

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— Liiga (@smliiga) January 3, 2024

In 59 games with Oulan Karpat, Koivunen posted 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) and became the first 20-year-old to register that much offense since forward Sami Kapanen, an eventual All-Star in the NHL, recorded 55 points in 1993-94.

Koivunen’s offensive outburst was quite a jump from the 2022-23 season when he had 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 52 games as a 19-year-old.

What led to such a leap?

“Of course, I improved my skills,” said Koivunen, who is participating in the Penguins’ ongoing prospect development camp in Cranberry. “Skating helped me a lot. Using my strengths. Of course, linemates always help. Our power play was pretty good. We scored a lot of goals on the power play. Of course, that helps, too.”

A handful of games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also helped.

After Karpat’s season ended in mid-April, the left-handed Koivunen (6-foot, 172 pounds) linked up with the American Hockey League affiliate for each of its postseason games late in the month. In a two-game opening-round loss — of a best-of-three series — to the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Koivunen had two points (one goal, one assist).

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— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 25, 2024

“It was fun,” Koivunen said. “The guys were very fun there. We had a good team there. I think we should have won those games, but we didn’t. But it was fun.”

After the Penguins swung the trade with Carolina on March 7, president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas sang the praises of all the assets he received in return, including NHL forward Michael Bunting as well as forward prospects Cruz Lucius and Vasily Ponomarev.

But Koivunen, a second-round draft pick (No. 51 overall) of the Hurricanes in 2021, drew particularly high acclaim from Dubas and company.

“Hockey sense I think would be the biggest thing,” Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza said. “He thinks the game at a very high level. He’s able to manipulate defenders with his subtle movements. He’s very dangerous on the power play coming downhill. It’s unfortunate he only got a couple of games (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) because I think he would have benefited from more (AHL) games. But it is what it is, and I thought he showed well in those games. He’s able to make plays at a quick pace.

“The important part of development for him would be just getting the pace of his skating up, stronger. Now, you’re stepping into playing against men all the time. Even though he did that in Finland, the rink closes a little quicker on you in the (AHL) and the NHL. We’ll help him with that transition. But with the hockey IQ, that’s the exciting part for us.”

Koivunen, who is entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract, is considered a candidate to see NHL games in 2024-25.

That comes with the expectations that have been foisted up on him.

“Of course, I want to play in the NHL,” Koivunen said. “Every guy in here wants to play there. But I have to work hard and play good. It’s going to be a long way. But I have to work hard.”

Note: Lucius (illness) and forward Luke Devlin (undisclosed injury) will not participate in the camp because of maladies. Per Spezza, Devlin’s ailment is not serious, and he is being withheld for precautionary reasons. The Penguins selected Devlin in the sixth round (No. 182 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft.