Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre are blue-collar towns. So, it only makes sense that Patrick McGrath, with his blue-collar style of play, has been a fan favorite throughout his six years in the Penguins' minor-league system.
It sure doesn't hurt that McGrath is a hometown kid, hailing from Shavertown, only minutes from Wilkes-Barre.
McGrath, 25, remembers frequenting the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza for Penguins games as a child. The days of players like Tom Kostopoulos, Darcy Verot, Jesse Boulerice, and his favorite, Dennis Bonvie.
McGrath says the thing he remembers most about those years was just the atmosphere of the arena. The Penguins were always in the playoffs, and the crowd was loud. Now, McGrath is on the ice instead of in the seats as the first local product to ever suit up for Wilkes-Barre.
"It's definitely special," he told me of playing for the Penguins. "Every year comes around, it's pretty cool that I've been around now for six years in the organization. I'm just so thankful that they keep giving me an opportunity. It's always fun being in a winning organization like this."
McGrath, a right wing, came up through the Philadelphia Little Flyers program as a teenager, then played parts of two seasons in the QMJHL. In 2013, he signed his first pro contract, an ECHL-level deal with Wheeling. He made his AHL debut in December the following season.
Over those six years, McGrath has grown into his role. At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he's not your traditional, old-school enforcer like some of his favorite players, but he's a fighter. He's Wheeling's all-time leader in fights, with 65 in 137 games. He's 15th all-time for Wilkes-Barre, with 31 in 74 games. McGrath dropped the gloves for the first time this season on Friday, showing no hesitation after Hershey's Connor Hobbs laid a big hit on Ryan Horvat:
Something that has made McGrath's journey all the more special is being able to work with his childhood heroes along the way.
He's been around for Kostopoulos' whole career. McGrath watched him play during the teams early years, and played with him in Kostopoulos' second stint with the team. Back in 2016, when the Penguins played a video tribute to celebrate the Kostopoulos's 600th career AHL game, Kostopoulos and McGrath were sitting right next to each other in the penalty box -- the same penalty box McGrath sat behind as a child. Things had come full circle.
"It's pretty funny," McGrath said. "When I was playing with him, I was like, 'Man, I used to sit in the seats and watch him play.' It's funny, we had a couple of laughs about it before."
Bonvie, another legend in Wilkes-Barre, has been with McGrath throughout his whole career. As a child, McGrath skated in the summer camps Bonvie runs out of the Coal Street Complex. When McGrath grew older, Bonvie was there for advice.
"Dennis has been with me pretty much all my hockey career," McGrath said. "He's helped me in any way possible. On the ice, off the ice, he helped me tremendously just getting to where I am today. ... Dennis has shown me millions of things over the years to make sure I'm okay and that I protect myself."
Now a professional himself, McGrath -- again coming full circle -- helps to teach those camps he attended as a child. McGrath hopes to one day run his own camps for local kids, too.
McGrath follows in Bonvie's footsteps in other ways. Bonvie had an iconic post-fight celebration during his playing days, throwing up a "horns" gesture. Naturally, McGrath now does the same.
"I remember him always doing that, and I always thought it was cool," he laughed. "When I first played in Wilkes, for the first fight I ever had, it was always something I wanted to do. I kind of just stuck with it now. The fans seem to like it."
Fighting, of course, is on the decline in hockey. McGrath knows that. The AHL has implemented rules to discourage that part of the game, such as suspending players who receive 10 or more fighting majors in a season, or assessing game misconduct penalties for staged fights that come off a faceoff. McGrath doesn't ever think fighting will completely go away. Even so, he doesn't think of himself as just a fighter. He's a hockey player.
"It is what it is. I think it will always be a part of the game, it has a place in it," he said. "I love playing hockey, fighting is just something that I'm good at and I can do and can bring to the table. It's kind of a tool that I have. It's just a small part of the game -- you don't win hockey games by just one fight, right? You gotta score. So I love all the other aspects too, and I always work hard every day to try to keep getting better at those as I move forward."
McGrath wasn't in Wilkes-Barre's opening night lineup, but got the opportunity after Wilkes-Barre suffered some injuries at forward. He doesn't have any points in his four games this season, but he is still contributing in ways that don't involve his fists. Here, he lays a hit on a Phantom to force a turnover and set up Linus Olund's first goal of the season last week:
In 74 career AHL games, McGrath has scored three times -- and only once on home ice. That goal last season was an empty net goal, but it still received an extended standing ovation from his hometown crowd.
"It was great. It was an empty net, but it was still fun," he laughed. "As a kid I always wanted to do that at home. It was special."
While it was always a dream to play for his childhood team, the real dream hasn't changed for McGrath.
"I want to play as long as I possibly can, and obviously would like to play in the NHL. Whatever road I have to take to get there is what I'm going to do."
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Oct. 26: vs. Hershey, 4-1 win
• Oct. 27: at Hershey, 4-3 shootout loss
• Troy Josephs was reassigned to Wheeling on Saturday. Josephs had played in one game in Wilkes-Barre this season, and recorded one assist.
• Ryan Haggerty didn’t play this week with a lower-body injury, and is considered week-to-week. Sam Miletic, injured in Saturday's game, is also considered week-to-week.
• Tristan Jarry took a risk here coming way out of the net, and it didn't pay off. It was Teddy Blueger who hustled back and got the tip on the pass to bail his goalie out:
• Man, Adam Johnson's speed. He's built for 3-on-3 overtime. Here, on Saturday, Hershey forces a turnover and almost has a 2-on-1 in the open ice. Johnson, from ten feet behind the puck, hustles to get in front of the play and block the shot:
• This week is the strongest Stefan Elliott has looked this season. He had some missteps last week, turning the puck over or struggling to defend Lehigh Valley's rushes. He stood out for good reasons this week. Here, he chases down a Bear to prevent a scoring chance, and easily goes down to block the shot after the second whack at it:
• McGrath didn't have the only fight this week. Garrett Wilson took down Tom Sestito's old buddy Liam O'Brien:
• Lines and defense pairings from Saturday:
Garrett Wilson - Adam Johnson - Anthony Angello
Zach Aston-Reese - Sam Lafferty - Sam Miletic
Thomas Di Pauli - Teddy Blueger - Jimmy Hayes
Ryan Horvat - Linus Olund - Pat McGrath
Chris Summers - Stefan Elliott
Will O'Neill - Zach Trotman
Jeff Taylor - Ethan Prow
• After this week, the Penguins have a record of 5-2-0-1. They rank third in the Atlantic Division behind the Charlotte Checkers (8-1) and Springfield Thunderbirds (6-0-0-2). The power play dipped to 15.6 percent, and the penalty kill rose to 84.8 percent.
• The Penguins will have their first three-in-three of the season, hosting the Hartford Wolf Pack (4-6-1) on Friday and Saturday, and visiting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (4-4-1) on Sunday afternoon. Both opponents are Atlantic Division foes below Wilkes-Barre in the standings.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Angello scored a shorthanded goal on Friday, the first shorthanded goal of the year for Wilkes-Barre:
Thomas Di Pauli showed off his speed and drove to the net, and Johnson picked up the rebound on Friday:
Johnson wasn't done yet, though. Here he is picking the top corner later in the game:
Zach Aston-Reese opened the scoring on Saturday:
This one is just an all-around great play. Angello banks the puck off the boards to get it to Blueger, Blueger circles around and backhands it into the net with ease:
This is a nice goal from Ethan Prow, but the assist is nicer. Johnson skillfully holds onto the puck until the perfect moment, and gets it to Prow through traffic:
SAVE OF THE WEEK
A Bear tried to clear the puck while shorthanded. Prow intercepted the shot, but couldn't hang onto the puck, and created a breakaway chance for Hershey. Jarry made the stop:
Clark Donatelli said that save was a big momentum boost for his team.
"It was a great save," said Donatelli. "I thought he had some really good, big time saves. That was definitely one of them."
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
Chris Summers made some new friends.
“Put on your mean faces,” says Chris Summers. It was great meeting the Pittsburgh Predators last night after our game in Hershey. #WBS20 pic.twitter.com/f9ZKxukTVm
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 28, 2018
Angello, Jimmy Hayes, Josephs, and Matt Abt shared their favorite and least favorite Halloween candies:
We asked @Anthony_Angello @Jimmy10Hayes @TJosephs16 and Matt Abt about some of their favorite (and not so favorite) trick or treat candies. #HappyHalloween #WBSPens #WBS20 #TrickOrTreat pic.twitter.com/JUfknbMmKi
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 29, 2018
Note: Beginning this week, the “Beyond the AHL” and “Top Pick Tracker” sections will be moved to their own separate feature, “Prospect Watch”, which will expand on the Penguins’ prospects in juniors, college, or overseas. Wilkes-Barre Watch will run on Mondays and focus solely on Wilkes-Barre, Wheeling Watch will continue to run on Tuesdays, and Prospect Watch will run on Wednesdays.
