The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forward Daniel Sprong to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the club announced Saturday.
Sprong made the team out of training camp as an 18-year-old, but struggled to find a regular role in the lineup under former head coach Mike Johnston.
“Spending this time in the NHL has been a good development experience for Daniel,” Penguins GM and vice president Jim Rutherford said via the team’s official site. “But it’s important for him to have more playing time.”
The Penguins recalled forward Scott Wilson from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL in a corresponding move. Wilson is tied for the league lead in goals with 15.
Sprong scored two goals in 18 games with the Penguins. Pittsburgh burned the first year of Sprong’s entry-level contract by keeping him in the NHL past the 10-game threshold.
It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for the Penguins, who have lost three straight games and are tumbling down the Metropolitan Division standings.
The club relieved Johnston of his duties last week and replaced him with Mike Sullivan. Veteran defenceman Robert Scuderi was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks this week in exchange for defenceman Trevor Daley.
The Penguins selected Sprong in the second round (46th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft. He returns to Charlottetown, where he totaled 156 points in 135 games over two seasons.