STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- The Penguins assigned Finnish winger Janne Pesonon to minor-league Wilkes-Barre/Scranton today, getting their roster to the 24-man limit for their season opener tomorrow against Ottawa in the 2008 NHL Premiere at Globe Arena.

Pesonen was signed over the summer. He will remain with the team here through the weekend and report to the American Hockey League farm club when the Penguins return to North America. He started and played in his home country Thursday when the Penguins beat Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League, 4-1, in Helsinki in an exhibition game.

Fox Chapel native Bill Thomas and rookie Paul Bissonnette, both wingers, survived the cut and will be in the Penguins lineup for the first time.

The rest of the lineup includes forwards Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Petr Sykora, Jeff Taffe, Matt Cooke, Max Talbot, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Godard, Tyler Kennedy, Evgeni Malkin, Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby; defensemen Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi, Darryl Sydor, Mark Eaton, Alex Goligoski, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang; and goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin and John Curry.