The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled defenseman P.O Joseph from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday.

His recall comes on the same day the team revealed incumbent defenseman Mike Matheson will be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis with an undisclosed injury.

This marks the third time this season Joseph has been recalled to the NHL roster. He has appeared in four NHL games during the 2021-22 campaign and has not scored a point while logging an average of 18 minutes, 14 seconds of ice time per contest.

With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Joseph is in the midst of a career year at the AHL level, having played in 40 games and scoring 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists), third-most on the team.

The left-handed Joseph has been particularly productive as of late with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past 12 games.

His play has sated Penguins management.

“He’s an NHL player right now,” Penguins player development coach Tom Kostopoulos said recently. “He’s fantastic. He’s the leader on the team. He’s the best player on the team. He’s the hardest worker on the team. When your best defensive player is your best offensive player, it’s something pretty special.

“Once he gets his shot, I don’t expect to see him in Wilkes-Barre ever again.”

Joseph, 22, is in the final year of a three-year entry-level contract that carries a salary cap hit of $863,333.

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