Despite no guarantee of cracking NHL roster, Rutger McGroarty excited to get going with Penguins

Last week, Rutger McGroarty was a member of the Winnipeg Jets organization and weighing a potential return to Michigan for his junior college hockey season.

Much has changed for the 20-year-old forward, who was introduced by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in Cranberry after a blockbuster trade of top prospects with the Jets on Aug. 22.

While it has been a whirlwind for McGroarty, chosen 14th overall in 2022 by the Jets, he is excited to get started with the Penguins, having recently signed a three-year entry-level contract worth $950,000 annually.

“Everything’s right here,” McGroarty said. “The development path, the veteran guys that they have here, the organization that they have here and the talent here, as well.

“I don’t want to say (signing with the Penguins) was a no-brainer because I love the University of Michigan and it was very tough leaving there, but, also, it’s awesome being here.”

The way McGroarty put it, he has been given no guarantees that he will crack the NHL roster coming out of preseason training camp.

But that will doubtless be the ultimate goal for him.

“I’ve been promised a spot at the rookie tournament, and that’s about it,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to get what I deserve, and I’m going to come ready to work for camp. I like where my game’s at right now. I’m just excited to get to camp and hopefully leave a good impression.”

In meeting with the Pittsburgh media for the first time, McGroarty addressed several items that had become lingering question marks since being acquired by the Penguins.

Notably, McGroarty discussed his departure from Winnipeg.

At the end of June, trade rumors heated up after McGroarty declined to attend the club’s development camp.

After last Thursday’s trade, which sent Penguins top prospect Brayden Yager to the Jets, Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke with local reporters about the circumstances of the move.

McGroarty did not offer specifics as to why he opted not to sign with the Jets.

“My agents talked to them, and then I talked to them,” he said. “I just wanted to be up front and honest with them and tell them that I wasn’t going to be signing with them. I got nothing but respect for those guys. They handled it with a lot of class. I wish them nothing but the best, but, as I said, I’m fired up to get started here now.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, McGroarty is a left-handed shot who said he is comfortable playing right and left wing.

A solid offensive producer at Michigan as well as with the U.S. National Development Team for two seasons, McGroarty brings physicality and experience on the Wolverines’ top-ranked power play into Penguins preseason camp, not to mention leadership.

McGroarty was set to assume the captaincy at Michigan and captained the U.S. to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in January.

In terms of potentially less-refined aspects of McGroarty’s game, some talent evaluators — as well as his coach at Michigan — have pointed to skating and speed.

McGroarty admitted those are areas that he is trying to improve but also emphasized several other strong facets of his game.

“I think speed for sure is something that I’ve been working on a lot and I know that’s something I have to work on, just like I have to work on every other aspect of my game,” McGroarty said. “I feel like I definitely play a power game, and I have a really good hockey IQ.

“I can put myself into situations that I know I can succeed in with — I don’t want to say a lack of skating — but I think that I can think the game at a high level so I can put myself in better situations. I’m going to continue to work on my skating, as well.”

The Penguins’ upcoming preseason camp will be a new environment for McGroarty, who aims to prove he belongs.

Now and moving forward, McGroarty has more pressing matters to occupy his attention than speculating where he could slot into the nightly lineup.

That said, he, understandably, couldn’t resist thinking about what it would be like to earn an opportunity to play alongside the Penguins’ longtime franchise icon.

“Playing with Sidney Crosby, obviously, he’s the best player in the world,” he said. “I’ve grown up watching him play. It’s definitely crossed my mind. I feel like that would be very cool if I could one day do that.”