The Pittsburgh Penguins have added defenseman Dmitri Samorukov to the team, signing him to a one year contract worth $775K at the NHL level.

This signing comes as Chad Ruhwedel is going to be out week to week with a lower body injury. Ruhwedel’s absence, along with the questionable status regarding P.O. Joseph put the Penguins’ depth on defense rather thin.

Joseph has been a healthy scratch for several weeks now, but head coach Mike Sullivan said on Saturday that Joseph had been dealing with a nagging injury, which was the main reason he was being kept out of the lineup.

However, Joseph’s road back to the lineup hit another speed bump today with the addition of Samorukov.

Samorukov, a former third round draft choice by the Edmonton Oilers back in 2017, was playing with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the WBS Penguins, to start the year.

In 15 games in the AHL, Samorukov posted 1 goal and 4 assists for the team. He is -2, but has been very disciplined so far with just 2 penalty minutes.

At 24 years old, Samorukov has bounced around a lot in his young career. Starting out with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, Samorukov played his first full pro season in 2019-20. The following year, he was loaned to the Kontinental Hockey League, where he played for CSKA Moskova.

He returned to North America for 2021-22, where he spent the vast majority of the year playing for Bakersfield. He did, however, make his NHL debut that year, skating in a single game for the Oilers.

Last season, Samorukov was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Blues, and played 2 games for the NHL club, while spending 69 games in the AHL for the Springfield Thunderbirds. There, he recorded the highest point total of his pro career, notching 4 goals and 16 assists from the blue line.

Once his contract is officially on the books, he will be the youngest healthy defenseman on the Penguins active roster. Even if/when Joseph comes back (he is also 24) and when John Ludvig (23) comes off LTIR, Samorukov will still be one of the youngest players on the team.

He’s an interesting player to keep an eye on, and an intriguing young addition brought in by Kyle Dubas.

(Featured photo via the Springfield Thunderbirds)