PITTSBURGH — Noah Welch made the rounds through the Pittsburgh Penguins' locker room, shaking hands and saying goodbye just a week after arriving.

"See you in the fall," Sidney Crosby told him. "For good, this time."

After the way Welch, a 23-year-old rookie defenseman, played in a three-game audition with the Penguins, his next trip to Pittsburgh might just be his last.

Despite tallying four points in his first three NHL games, Welch was returning to the team's AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after Thursday's practice. He was with Pittsburgh on an emergency basis while veteran defenseman Eric Cairns served a three-game suspension.

Cairns, disciplined for spearing Ottawa's Zdeno Chara on March 21, is eligible to return to the lineup tonight at the New York Islanders.

"I really liked what I saw from him," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "He's going to go (to the AHL) with good confidence. ... He has to work on a few things but that's normal for only being in his first year as a pro."

That the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Welch could look so comfortable during his first taste of the NHL — his plus-2 rating was best on the team over his stay and his four points tied him for second-most — is all the more remarkable considering he is only one year removed from playing at Harvard.