SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that San Diego Gulls forward Sasha Pastujov, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Ville Koivunen and Laval Rocket goaltender Cayden Primeau have been selected as the league’s award winners for January.
Pastujov, the AHL Player of the Month, recorded six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 12 games for San Diego during January.
Since Jan. 3, Pastujov has put together an 11-game scoring streak, tied for the longest in the AHL this season. He scored a goal to help erase a late two-goal deficit at Coachella Valley on Jan. 4, and matched a franchise record for assists in a game with four helpers in a 5-1 win over Iowa on Jan. 8. Pastujov then scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 decision over Tucson on Jan. 10, and recorded a goal and two assists vs. Iowa on Jan. 15 and again at Calgary on Jan. 25.
Pastujov has notched 12 goals and 17 assists for a team-best 29 points in 27 games for the Gulls after beginning the season with Tulsa (ECHL). The 21-year-old native of Bradenton, Fla., has already surpassed his offensive totals from his 2023-24 rookie season, when he notched 10 goals and 13 assists in 46 games with San Diego. Pastujov was selected by Anaheim in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Koivunen, the AHL Rookie of the Month, registered nine goals and five assists for 14 points along with a plus-11 rating in 11 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in January.
Koivunen’s month was highlighted by three standout performances. On Jan. 8 at Toronto, Koivunen registered the first hat trick of his AHL career and also chipped in an assist as the Penguins doubled up the Marlies, 6-3. On Jan. 26, he notched four assists in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 5-1 win over Lehigh Valley. And on Jan. 29, Koivunen scored four goals – the first such game by a Penguins skater since 2016 – in a 9-0 victory over Hershey.
Koivunen, 21, is in his first full season in North America after playing for Karpat in the Finnish Liiga, and currently leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games. The native of Oulu, Finland, was a second-round choice by Carolina in the 2021 NHL Draft and was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Mar. 7, 2024, as part of the multi-player deal that sent Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes.
Primeau, the AHL Goaltender of the Month, won his first eight starts in the AHL this season, finishing January with a record of 8-0-0, a 1.73 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
Assigned to Laval on Dec. 29, Primeau made his season debut with the Rocket on Jan. 3 and stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory over Abbotsford. He earned a shutout with 16 stops at Cleveland on Jan. 10, and made 17 saves on Jan. 22 to help the Rocket defeat the two-time defending Calder Cup champions from Hershey. He closed out the month by turning aside 30 shots in a 3-1 win over Hartford on Jan. 31.
Primeau was a seventh-round pick by Montreal in the 2017 NHL Draft, and has gone on to play 55 games with the Canadiens, including 11 appearances this season. In 132 AHL contests with Laval over his six pro seasons, the 25-year-old native of Voorhees, N.J., has a record of 72-42-12 with a 2.68 GAA, a .910 save percentage and 12 shutouts.