Owen Pickering sidelined with an upper-body injury, leading to Nate Clurman’s call-up to the Penguins' defense.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned their top prospect Owen Pickering to injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Pickering exited the team’s Saturday match versus New Jersey after the conclusion of the second period. He seemed to show no obvious injury but did take a tough hit against the boards from Devils forward Paul Cotter a few shifts before departing.
Nonetheless, Pickering will now be sidelined for at least one week and three matches; however, he benefits from the team’s short holiday pause. To address his absence, Pittsburgh has given defenseman Nate Clurman just the second call-up of his professional career. The first occurred last week and did not lead to Clurman participating in any games.
He has only scored two points in his first 14 NHL games, yet his strong defensive play has earned him a top-pair position alongside Penguins star Kris Letang. The newcomer averaged 19:19 ice time over five games before his injury and even gained minutes on both special teams despite having no points and a -5 rating.
He’s sticking to his game plan, preventing rivals from entering the low slot and allowing his forwards to handle the tough work—a role he refined with 12 games, one goal, and a +5 to kick off the AHL season.
The performance might not be spectacular, but it’s a solid beginning for the 20-year-old Pickering, who is currently in his initial professional season after spending the previous four years with the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. Pickering was significantly more engaged at Swift Current, acting as the team’s captain during his last two seasons and accumulating 133 points over 205 career games.
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Pickering will soon be substituted by the combination of Ryan Shea and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who has returned to the Penguins through trade last week. Neither player has demonstrated much effectiveness during their NHL time.
Shea is Pittsburgh’s lowest scorer, still in pursuit of his first point after 26 games this season. Joseph recorded two assists in 23 games with the St. Louis Blues before his trade, but he also had 23 penalty minutes and a -7 rating.
Clurman will take on the position of an additional defender behind the pair. He has five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a +6 rating in 18 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, which surprisingly ties him for fourth in scoring among the team’s defensemen.
Clurman is a professional minor-leaguer in his initial season with the Penguins, following four years in the Colorado Avalanche system, which selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. He has accumulated 26 points over five seasons and 128 games in the AHL.
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