Penguins recall Engelland - 04-20-10

The Penguins recalled defenseman Deryk Engelland (right) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Engelland appeared in nine regular season NHL games this past season and recorded two assists, 17 penalty minutes and was a minus-2. In 71 regular season AHL games, he had 11 points (five goals, six assists), 121 penalty minutes and was a plus 10.

He will likely serve the role of a "black ace" during this recall. Black Aces are players who are recalled from an AHL affilite whose season has ended during the NHL affiliate's Stanley Cup run. The idea is to expose a potenial future player to the atmosphere of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

EN Says: With the Penguins bound to lose a defenseman or two (or three or four) in the offseason, expect Engelland and Ben Lovejoy to get every chance to make the NHL roster next season. A move like this will just make that easier.

(Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)