Meet the New Penguins: Bunting and Three Prospects Join the Fold

When Michael Bunting got to PNC Arena on Friday ahead of Carolina’s matchup with Montreal and started getting ready for the game, he got called into the coach’s office, thinking they were going to be doing video.

Turns out, the forward was being held out for trade reasons – so all Bunting could do is wait and see where he ended up. He moved to another Metro Division opponent, as the Penguins acquired Bunting, three prospects and conditional 2024 first-round and fifth-round draft picks from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Jake Guentzel and Ty Smith.

“I'm excited that it's Pittsburgh, obviously,” Bunting said. “This is an experienced crew, and we’re in the running here – and I want to try to help this team come in and be a big part of it.”

The deal became official after the Penguins and Hurricanes finished their respective games, and despite the quick turnaround, Bunting made it to practice at noon on Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“I packed up last night and drove to the airport this morning, and I got here at 9:00, I think (was when) I landed,” he said. “I'm excited to go where I'm wanted and I'm excited to be a Pittsburgh Penguin. I think obviously, this franchise has a lot of history and knows how to win. I have two more years on my contract, and I'm excited to come back and continue my career as a Penguin."

Bunting, 28, has skated in 60 games this season with the Hurricanes and tallied 13 goals (with six coming on the power play), 23 assists and 36 points. He scored 23 goals in each of his previous two campaigns, both with Toronto – finishing as a Calder Trophy finalist for rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Bunting had been reunited there with Kyle Dubas, now the Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM, after he signed with the Maple Leafs as a free agent following six seasons in the Coyotes organization. Arizona had drafted Bunting in the fourth round back in 2014, after his first season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League… which was Dubas’ last as their GM before he joined Toronto’s management team.

"We go far back, all the way to my junior days in Sault Ste. Marie,” Bunting said. “He drafted me to the Soo, and then obviously, I went to Toronto after that and he was there as well. So, I've known Kyle for a long time and we have a great relationship."

In discussing the difficult decision to trade Guentzel, a fan favorite and homegrown Penguins superstar, Dubas said getting a roster player who can contribute now as part of the package was important.

“He's been a good NHL player – this is his fourth full year now after coming up with Arizona. What he brings to the table was important for us to add that in this whole process, which we were happy to,” Dubas said.

“Our goal is to improve our team every day, improve our current-day roster, improve our prospects base, and do so while improving our draft capital. So, we're trying do that at the same time, as we talked about when I first came in. So, the players coming in. Bunting will help right away. We'll have a stronger group.”

The Penguins didn’t do line rushes at today’s session, but Bunting feels like he’s a complementary player who can skate with anyone.

“I think I can play anywhere around the lineup, and then especially going back toward my time in Toronto, I played with top guys like Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, and I was able to have success there, too,” Bunting said.

“So, I know I'm capable of doing that and I like to play that role of getting them the puck, creating them space and also being able to put some in the net as well. So, I'm excited to see how this all unfolds.”

Dubas offered some insight into the other parts of the deal – here’s what he had to say about the three players joining the Penguins organization.

Vasily Ponomarev

FROM THE RELEASE: The 21-year-old has appeared in two games for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, notching two points (1G-1A). He made his NHL debut on Jan. 5, scoring his first NHL goal and finishing the night with two points. He’s also played in 41 games at the AHL level this year split between the Tuscon Roadrunners and the Chicago Wolves, picking up 29 points (8G-21A) in 41 games. 

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward has played in a total of 116 career AHL games over parts of three seasons, recording 35 goals, 50 assists and 85 points. His best season came with Chicago in 2022-23 where he established AHL career highs in games played (64), goals (24), assists (22), and points (46). Ponomarev won the AHL’s Calder Cup with Chicago in 2022, recording six points (1G-5A) in 18 playoff games.

Prior to being drafted by Carolina in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, Ponomarev spent two seasons in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes from 2019-21, picking up 87 points (28G-59A) in 90 regular-season games. The Moscow, Russia native has represented his home country at the 2021 World Junior Championship and 2019 World Under-17 Championship.

Dubas: “He's been right on the cusp all year. He's been called up with Carolina, we'll assign him to Wilkes at the start just to get him acclimated to our system. I would expect that at some point here down the stretch, he'll get a good run with us – and then, we expect him to challenge. I don't think anything's guaranteed, but we expect him to challenge for being on the roster going into next year.”

Ville Koivunen

FROM THE RELEASE: The 20-year-old has skated in 57 games this season with Karpat of Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, and tallied 21 goals, 34 assists and 55 points. The forward leads Karpat in assists and points, while his point total is also the fifth highest across all of Liiga. Koivunen plays with Penguins prospect Emil Pieniemi on Karpat.

The 6-foot, 172-pound Koivunen has played three seasons with Karpat, totaling 44 goals, 68 assists and 112 points in 162 career Liiga games. He also played in 12 AHL games following the conclusion of his Liiga season in 2022-23, tallying one goal with the Chicago Wolves.

Dubas: “Koivunen, he’s had an excellent year. He was a guy that when we got to the 2021 draft when I was in Toronto, we had highly touted in our process year going through this. He was one of their players we had targeted very highly, and he’s had a great year with Karpat. Their organization, having a player there (Penguins prospect Emil Pieniemi), there’s a little bit more attention paid to it. But especially on those teams, we’re paying attention to all their prospects. He’s just gotten better and better as the year’s gone on. He makes such a high impact, highly competitive and highly skilled, which seems to be the mix that fits here best. So, he’s signed. He’s loaned over there. Once their season ends, if he’s not going to be in their national team mix – which I suspect he will be for Finland – then we would bring him to Wilkes-Barre and get him acclimated. But otherwise, we’ll give him a full run and expect him to contend for the roster next year. But, at the same time, transition to North America if he needs time, we’ll get it all ramped up in Wilkes-Barre for him.”

Cruz Lucius 

FROM THE RELEASE: The 19-year-old has spent the 2023-24 campaign playing collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin. He’s appeared in 32 games, recording 12 goals, 19 assists, 31 points and is plus-2. His 31 points rank first on Wisconsin and his 12 goals are a career high and are second on the team. 

The 6-foot, 178-pound Lucius has played in 66 career NCAA games from 2022-24, all with Wisconsin, notching 23 goals, 42 assists and 65 points in 66 games. Cruz is teammates with current Penguins prospect Daniel Laatsch.

Prior to being drafted by Carolina in the fourth round (124th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Lawrence, Kansas native spent two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program from 2020-22. Cruz won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2022 World Under-18 Championship.

Dubas: “He’s coming off the end of his second season now with Wisconsin as a sophomore where he's near a point a game. Went in as a true freshman last year, so he's been someone that – having a member of their old coaching staff on our pro staff, and we have a player there, Daniel Laatsch – we've seen them a lot. He's gotten better and better this year, he's made a big impact in a tough conference in the Big Ten. That’s a great coaching staff and program at Wisconsin, so we'll have conversations with him and his people at the end of this year. But, I suspect he'll return to Wisconsin and turn pro in the subsequent seasons."