Rutger McGroarty is built for the NHL
After being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Winnipeg Jets, very recently did Rutger McGroarty sign his entry level contract with the Penguins soon after the trade was made. McGroarty was a former 14th overall pick of the Jets back in 2022, and instead opting not to sign there, after being in long extensive trade talks, he was finally moved to Pittsburgh. What's really intriguing when talking about McGroarty's game is his natural competitiveness that shows both as a leader and in his on/off-puck play. There are noticeable habits ingrained in McGroarty that allow him to make up for subpar foot speed, which has been a struggle with him for years prior.
However, although he struggles in power skating mechanical elements, when you look at the hockey sense, compete, willpower, and natural scoring instincts he has, it really can be more irrelevant that he isn't necessarily a good skater. If he was a bad skater and on top of that had subpar qualities, then there would be an issue, but at least with McGroarty you're getting multiple separating factors in his game that allow him to be different.
Ever since playing at the youth level, McGroarty is someone I've followed for a handful of years now, where in bantam and midget he was an insanely special goal scorer. There were so many highlight reel goals from McGroarty where he could attack off the rush, maneuver 1v1, and handle situations singlehandedly as a play driver when playing with HoneyBaked and the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies in Michigan. As I've continued to see his game evolve over the years, what has really impressed me in McGroarty is his playmaking instincts and how well he's continued to improve as a playmaker. In bantam and midget, when an opportunity was there to shoot, he was taking the shot all day long. As he aged up through junior with the NTDP and beyond with his time at Michigan, the playmaking and natural ability to defer when necessary allowed him to transform his vision and general on-ice awareness.
The other thing positive about that is as he continued to improve his playmaking and vision, he never lost his scoring touch, as that always continued to thrive and his shot mechanics became more powerful through his time in the NTDP as well. He continued to shoot when necessary, and pass when he needed to pass and not give pucks away without a purpose. His vision allowed him to create layers in the offense too, because he was oftentimes singlehandedly leading the rush and creating offense playing AAA youth hockey. Through junior, his ability to slow play down and not be a bulldozer all the time, and his entry patterning continued to show more awareness and slower perception of speed (A good thing).
His entry patterning gained much more versatility at Michigan as well. He could lead the rush, understand how to move off the pass directly, he could sprint off the puck with better anticipation of where the puck was going to go, and he was better suited to how he can attack entries up the middle as well.
A lot of these highlights from McGroarty's time with the NTDP really showcase his ability to maneuver in tight and be a threat from tight areas. That will be something that will continue to allow him to blossom playing at the NHL level, where McGroarty will have a lot of puck possession opportunities, and space will obviously shrink at the NHL level compared to the NCAA for him. But, it's a big opportunity for him to continue to improve his vision and on-ice awareness that way, since he'll be better adapted to making smaller area plays faster and without less thought going into those plays.
McGroarty is also extremely active around the net and is always around, as he can use both his size and his frame to continue to gain body position and establish position in the crease area. He is very consistent when it comes to screening goalies and making sure that he can take away their vision, forcing the goalies to look around or under, which is especially difficult given McGroarty's stature.
As a shooter, it will be very interesting to see how he translates his shot ability to the NHL. He could become a valuable shooter for the Penguins if he makes the NHL squad out of camp, where McGroarty could get a real feel for how to use his signature pull and drag release, and he's also improved a lot at shooting with deception over his years as well. McGroarty has an innate ability to shoot from any angle, with a lot of power and accuracy, which is very rare to find in a prospect.
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Add to this all McGroarty's competitiveness in the defensive zone and tenacity on the forecheck, and this is a very well-rounded player who might not necessarily be a top-six contributor in Pittsburgh right away, but his floor is definitely really high. There's a ton of potential for him to be at worst a bottom-9 player, favorably a middle-six player coming out of training camp, but the potential to become a 2nd-line offensive contributor heading into the future. There's a lot to like about McGroarty's game, the details he can provide as a checker, and the tools that he weaponizes as an offensive player.
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It's interesting to see how Rutger McGroarty's development through the HoneyBaked and Oakland Jr. Grizzlies AAA programs has prepared him for the NHL. What do you think will be the biggest challenge for him to overcome in order to become a regular in the 2024-25 season?