Penguins Reassign Johnson, Budnick to Wheeling
Published on December 31, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today that they have reassigned defensemen Brent Johnson and Tommy Budnick to their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers.
Additionally, the Penguins have released forward William Dufour from his PTO. In six games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Dufour logged one goal.
Both Johnson and Budnick appeared in one game for the Penguins this season, Sunday, Dec. 28 at Lehigh Valley. On that Sunday afternoon, Budnick made his AHL debut.
Johnson leads the Nailers with 15 assists on the season. His 18 points also rank third on the club and tops among Wheeling defensemen. In 30 career ECHL games with Wheeling, the 22-year-old rearguard has four goals and 16 helpers for 20 points.
Johnson, a third-round draft pick (80th overall) by the Washington Capitals in 2021, made his AHL debut for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late last season. On Apr. 18, 2025, Johnson suited up at forward against the Hershey Bears for his first and only AHL contest so far.
Budnick is also in his first season of professional hockey, and he has skated in 27 contests for Wheeling. In that time, the 21-year-old rearguard has one goal and seven assists for eight points.
Budnick was signed by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this past offseason after wrapping up a five-year junior career in the Ontario Hockey League. The Petoskey, Michigan native posted 84 points (15G-69A) and 277 penalty minutes in 233 career games with the Kingston Frontenacs, Guelph Storm and Brantford Bulldogs.
This past year, Budnick was also the recipient of the Roger Neilson Memorial Award as the OHL's Top Academic Post-Secondary Student.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's next game is Saturday, Jan. 3 against the Syracuse Crunch. Game time between the Penguins and Crunch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The Penguins' next home game is Friday, Jan. 16, when the Hartford Wolf Pack come to town for a back-to-back set. Puck drop for the Penguins and Wolf Pack is set for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including Full-Season, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting
Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins' front office at (570) 208-7367.
Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league's streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.
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