Owen Pickering's first professional game appears to be imminent.
Pickering, the Penguins' 19-year-old defense prospect who was the team's first-round pick last summer, was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from his junior team in the WHL on Thursday.
The NHL's transfer agreement with the CHL junior leagues prevent teams from assigning their junior-eligible prospects to the AHL during the season unless they are at least 20 years old, an effort to prevent the AHL from poaching some of the top junior prospects and depleting those leagues. Players are free to join their team's AHL affiliate after their junior seasons are over, though.