The Pittsburgh Penguins were busy on Friday, signing two forwards to contracts, the team announced on X.
The team signed 19-year-old Melvin Fernstrom to a three-year, entry-level contract as their first move of the day. Fernstrom split the 2024-25 season with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League and their J20 Nationell team.
With Orebro HK, he scored eight goals and nine assists for 17 points through 48 games, ranking first among SHL rookies. With his performance, Fernstrom received the 2025 SHL Rookie of the Year. In 12 games with their Under-20 team, Fernstrom scored 11 goals and seven assists, totaling 18 points.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound forward was originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft but the Penguins acquired the forward from the Canucks in January.
Pittsburgh also brought back a familiar face, re-signing forward Boko Imama to a one-year contract, carrying an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
Story continues below advertisement
The 28-year-old spent a majority of the 2024-25 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. In the AHL, Imama scored three goals and two assists for five points, and was minus one through 24 games played. In Pittsburgh, he skated in 16 games, scoring a goal with an average ice time of 5:40.
As the Penguins make offseason moves, they have the 2025 NHL Draft coming up with an important first round pick at No. 11 on June 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
More NHL: Penguins Could Eye OHL Defenseman As Pick In NHL Draft
Featured image via David Kirouac/Imagn Images