When the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Rutger McGroarty in the summer of 2024 - sending their top forward prospect in Brayden Yager the other way - they knew they were getting a talented, cerebral player that could help the NHL team both in the short-term and the long-term.
Well, 22 games into his NHL career, the 14th overall pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2022 has shown some flashes - and he's only going to keep getting better.
Injured to begin the 2025-26 season, the 21-year-old forward from Lincoln, Neb. took a while to get back into game action. He missed all of training camp and the first month and a half of the season before a five-game AHL stint in which he recorded four goals and seven points in five games.
Now, he has played 14 NHL games this season, with two goals and three points in those 14 games, and he likes where his game is beginning to trend, especially since he is developing more comfortability at the highest level of hockey.
"I think I'm continuing to get more comfortable," McGroarty said. "Overall, I think my game is going up, and I'm getting better and better. I still think that there's a lot more to give as well.
"You can never be satisfied in this league. Just continuing to have that day-by-day mindset and just kind of stack the positives and learn from the negatives."
And his 22 NHL games have taught him a lot so far. He's not only learning the game at NHL speed, he's also learning to take every day in stride and steadily keep improving.
Pittsburgh Penguins' New Year's Resolutions: 2025 EditionThere were some ups and downs for Pittsburgh Penguins' players in 2025. So what can they resolve to accomplish in 2026?For McGroarty, developing consistency is the biggest thing. It's something he's continuously working to achieve, and he's learned to be able to take a step back both when things aren't going his way and when it's going really well for him.
"I think the main thing is just consistency," McGroarty said. "Game in, game out, shift by shift, I mean, you're not going to win the game on every shift. But you can definitely do your job and be attentive, and just kind of be in the moment on every shift - just not trying to win the game in one shift.
"It's the best league in the world. There's going to be ups, there's going to be downs, but kind of just staying in the middle, staying even, not getting too high, and not getting too low."
And McGroarty is beginning to find consistency in all three zones. His all-around toolset is one of the biggest reasons the Penguins acquired him in the first place, and it's something that separates him from a lot of other young players.
His ability to help create in the offensive zone and finish plays as well as his capability in the defensive zone - which, also, extends to the third line he's been playing on with Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen, and a few others sprinkled in - has not gone unnoticed by his head coach, either.
"I think he's playing well," coach Dan Muse said. "I think you see a lot of time in the o-zone as a line. I still think that they're continuing to work to just generate more of those chances from the inside, and I think that's going to come. Good work away from the puck as well, though. I think he's shown the responsibility there on the defensive side."
The Penguins' third line has certainly helped them in a lot of hockey games this season, even if they haven't quite found the scoresheet with the frequency that they'd, ideally, like to. But they're doing a lot of good things on both sides of the puck, even being counted on for some defensive zone starts in key situations.
And the trust that the coaching staff has in the line - especially as a line of what's mostly been three rookies - is something that McGroarty said they take a lot of pride in.
"I mean, we want to be out there for those situations," McGroarty said. "I feel like those d-zone faceoffs are just as important, if not more important, than o-zone draws or whatever it is. Just managing the puck in your own end, getting the puck out of your own end, and setting up the next line for an o-zone shift - whatever it is - I think that we've done a good job of that.
"My mom always says you lose trust in buckets and gain it in drops. So, just continuing to stack good shifts, continuing to stack good d-zone shifts, and just continuing to gain trust."
McGroarty believes that if he, Kindel, and Koivunen - or, even, Yegor Chinakhov, who was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29 and was iced with Kindel and McGroarty against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday - keep sticking to the process, the points will come, too. They are learning how to read each other in each zone, and it has contributed to a chemistry that has been palpable early on.
Chinakhov Trade Shows Penguins Are Starting To Shift GearsKyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Yegor Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, and it could be a sign of things to come over the next several months."I think we're learning what we like to do in the o-zone," McGroarty said. "And then, d-zone routes, filling space for each other... I think the more you play with a player, obviously, you're going to learn their routes more, and you're going to gain more chemistry no matter what. But I think that we've really done a good job of adapting to each other's games and not changing who we are, either, for anybody.
"I think we've really had some really good o-zone shifts, some really good o-zone looks, and we've really been good defensively as well. There's been a couple of bad bounces, a couple ones I definitely want back. But I think, overall, we've done really well in the d-zone for three rookies. And then in the o-zone, I think changing sides, protecting the puck, the little slip passes, have been great. And they're only going to continue to get better."
And so, too, will McGroarty, as he continues to gain NHL experience. He hasn't nearly scratched the surface of what he is capable of as a regular NHL player, and if he can reach his potential, the Penguins will be counting on him to be a key piece of their future core.
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