CRANBERRY, Pa. -- I was surprised he didn't just bust through the bleeping wall.
Not so much because Rutger McGroarty felt comfortable at the most recent World Junior Championships in Sweden trolling the host country's fans like this:
RUTGER PLZZZZZ
— autumn (@SPIDEYDABIN) January 6, 2024
WHY IS HE DANCING LMFAOOOOO pic.twitter.com/P11BDUnKBO
Not so much because this was how he shimmied through gold-medal ceremony an hour later alongside the U.S. entry he captained:
rutger dancing after getting his gold medal as team sweden looks on is so iconic pic.twitter.com/5SDz9XmqBm
— monica (@caroIinaskies) January 6, 2024
Not so much because because this was how he celebrated a clinching empty-netter at the University of Michigan against archrival Ohio State:
Speaking of Jets first rounders from 2022 Rutger McGroarty had a goal and assist for Michigan as part of their big win over Ohio State.
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) March 12, 2023
Fairly certain this kid will be a fan favourite simply for his post-goal celebrations. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/amqJ7rg44u
Watch to the end. The ice crew in Ann Arbor might've needed a month to pry him out of there.
But no, really, it was the way the kid pretty much bounced into the press room Wednesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, where the Penguins introduced him to the Pittsburgh media six days after he was acquired from the Jets in a blockbuster prospect trade.
"Hey," McGroarty would say with a warm wave to about a half-dozen silent people who'd never met him, and this was before he got to the podium, after which there was another small smile, as if to suggest he was ready for ... well, all of this. Everything around him.
In his initial response, he described himself as being "fired up," with an even broader smile, "It's a great city, a great organization with a lot of veteran players, so ... yeah, it's awesome."
In his next response, asked how it felt to be valued by Kyle Dubas and company that the Penguins parted with Brayden Yager, their top prospect, he'd say, "Obviously, it means a lot that they were willing to make a trade like that for me, and I'm very excited to be here now," And the smile surfaced again.
And even when a certain stick-in-the-mud reporter then asked the question that's been raging across the Manitoba plains for months -- why'd he refuse to sign with Winnipeg? -- he didn't come close to blinking: “My agents talked to them, and then I talked to them. I wanted to be upfront and honest with them, and just tell them that I wasn't going to be signing with them. I've got nothing but respect for those guys. They handled it with a lot of class, and I wish them nothing but the best. But, as I said, I'm fired up to get started here now.”
Better believe there was a smile there, too. At the end.
Same for when I asked if Dubas or anyone associated with the team had yet told McGroarty he'll have a real shot at making the roster next month and, in turn, if he felt he's ready for that:
“For me, I've been promised a spot at the rookie tournament, and that's about it,” he'd reply, referring to the NHL Prospects Challenge in which the Penguins will again have an entry, Sept. 13-16, in Buffalo, N.Y. “So, I feel like I'm gonna get what I deserve. 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 on them.”
More of a sampling:
• “I feel like everything's right here: The development path, the veteran guys that they have, the organization that they have and the town, as well. I went to a Pirates game on Monday, like, the sports town atmosphere is unbelievable." Gee, and the Pirates' keeper allowed only 18 to get by him that night. But I digress.
• “I love winning. I love being a part of an atmosphere like this. I feel like I've played on a lot of winning teams in my career. Obviously not to this extent in the NHL with guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, but I love being a part of that atmosphere. I love coming in. I love the grind every single day. I love winning. So, that makes me really excited and, hopefully, I could be a part of that.”
• “I feel like I come to the rink every single day, work extremely hard and do everything with intent, and then hopefully drag other guys across the line with you and help them get better." He laughed there and added, “I'm also a very vocal guy. I got a ton of energy. I'm always buzzing around. So, hopefully, some of that's contagious energy that other guys can feed off.”
Yeah, but who needs that in this setting, right?
Oh, my.
I've praised the trade. I've pored over the video. And I've promised not to take any projections for this young man, as a person or as a player, too far. But he sure doesn't make that easy, if only because of the fantastic fit he'd make if, in fact, he pushes through.
I mean, he's got ...
• The youth they're missing. He's 20. He was born the year Geno was drafted.
• The size they're missing. He's 6-1, 205, like a baby-faced Ruslan Fedotenko.
• The physicality they're missing. He can dish it. And he doesn't need coaxed.
• The skill potential that all of their prospects lack. He can dish it in this capacity, too, with a heavy assist ratio, in addition to finishing with a bang.
• That ... edge. That brashness. That confidence. Who's exuded that around here since Patric Hornqvist?
Really, who else fills even one of those five among players 25 or younger?
And in a more intangible context, with immeasurable respect to Sid, Geno, Letang and the other talented veterans who'll be back, McGroarty can offer this franchise's understandably fatigued fan base actual hope for the future. Something that no one, including Jake Guentzel, would've been able to do. And best of all, he can do while Sid's still Sid, not arriving after the fact as Yager would've.
We'll see. The next professional drill will be McGroarty's first.
• Thanks for reading my hockey coverage. Three weeks till it'll all be churning up here.
• And for listening:
