The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled defensemen Steve Oleksy and Chad Ruhwedel from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

Oleksy, 30, and Ruhwedel, 26, have helped the WBS Penguins jump out of the gate to an 8-1-1 record that has the club at the top of the AHL standings.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Oleksy has suited up for all 10 games thus far for WBS, amassing four points (1G-3A), a plus-1 and 12 penalty minutes.

Last spring, Oleksy traveled with the Penguins during the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs following the injury to Trevor Daley, earning both a day with the Stanley Cup and a championship ring.

Oleksy has played in 62 career NHL games, all with the Washington Capitals, tallying 19 points (3G-16A) and a plus-15.

Ruhwedel, who stands 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, leads all WBS blueliners this year in goals (2), assists (5) and points (7) in 10 games. He has an active three-game assist streak (4 total).

A native of San Diego, California, Ruhwedel broke into the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres as an undrafted free agent, collecting two assists in 33 NHL contests over parts of four years.

During his three-year college career at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Ruhwedel was an NCAA First-Team All-American his final year, helped his school reach the 2013 Frozen Four held at PPG Paints Arena and was teammates with Scott Wilson for two seasons.