McGroarty calm, confident ahead of NHL debut vs. Rangers

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Rutger McGroarty found out from the Penguins' PR team on Monday that he had made the season-opening roster. They gave him the heads up prior to sending the press release so they could be there and film McGroarty telling his family he made the team before the rest of the world found out.

It ended up being a pretty emotional call.

"My mom, she's a bawl baby," McGroarty said after the Penguins' practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Tuesday. "So she she started crying, obviously, and she was just so happy for me, just seeing how hard I've worked the past couple years. God has a plan for me. It was a special moment for us, and especially for my dad as well. He's taught me pretty much everything I know about hockey. It's a pretty special moment for me and my parents. Then my sister's my best friend, so when I told her, we celebrate each other's successes a lot. She's in nursing school right now, and I know how hard she works as well. My family's pretty fired up."

When Kyle Dubas spoke on Monday shortly after the season-opening roster was submitted, he said that he didn't want McGroarty to start in the NHL if it meant that he'd be a healthy scratch. Wherever he is, he needs to be playing. While Dubas is responsible for constructing the roster, Mike Sullivan makes the decisions on who will actually play. And through conversations between the two, it's clear that they're in agreement: McGroarty can and will play in the NHL out of training camp.

"My observation of Rutger, he's earned that," Dubas said. "There was nothing guaranteed to him whatsoever. And I thought during camp, from (the Prospects Challenge) all the way during camp, in every practice, every single game, I thought he continued to get better and better as the level raised. More so than his skill set, I think it's his intelligence and his instincts and his strength and his ability to make reads and make plays, even defensively. It's not always the highlight-reel stuff that you see in other markets on their prospects. It's just solid hockey. And I think he's just a hockey player."

McGroarty has been skating on the left wing of the Penguins' third line along with Lars Eller and Jesse Puljujarvi as of late. That doesn't have the makings of a defensive, shut-down bottom-six line akin to ones the Penguins have had in recent years. They can actually contribute offensively, something that has been lacking in the bottom-six in recent years. 

That trio had a short sample size in the preseason, but a great one: The three were together on the ice at the same time for a total of 10:22 at five-on-five. When on the ice the Penguins out-attempted opponents 13-7, outshot them 8-6, and -- most importantly -- outscored them, 4-0. In the preseason finale McGroarty had a great diving pass to Puljujarvi, who set up Eller for a goal:

McGroarty got on the scoreboard earlier in game, finishing off another quick-passing play involving the whole line:

McGroarty was also one of the penalty-killing forwards throughout the preseason, and the results were really all anyone could ask for: In the total 7:25 in which McGroarty was on the ice shorthanded, the Penguins didn't allow a goal. The Penguins will be without two penalty-killing forwards in Bryan Rust and Blake Lizotte to start the season, and so help will be needed regardless. McGroarty will be one of the forwards tasked with stepping up, but his presence isn't just because of a lack of better options: The coaching staff really does think he can be an effective penalty-killer.

"We see him as a guy that could potentially contribute," Sullivan said. "We like his hockey IQ. We think he has aptitude for the game. He's a good player on both sides of the puck. ... Rutgers a guy that could help us both on the penalty-kill and on the power play, and we'll feel that out and see where we think he fits best. But his aptitude, his overall hockey sense certainly suggests to me that he's capable of doing both."

McGroarty said it "feels like yesterday" that he was only a freshman at Michigan, "walking in the dorms and trying to make new friends." Two years later, at just 20 years old, he's earned an opportunity with an NHL team straight out of training camp and will presumably make his debut for the Penguins on Wednesday when the season opens at home against the Rangers.

McGroarty sounded surprisingly calm and confident on the eve of that debut when discussing his emotions. He's well aware that the work is only just beginning.

"Playing your first NHL game, obviously that's really cool," McGroarty said. "But, I mean, it's hockey. I'm still trying to stay up in the NHL now, so just go out there and continue to play my game and continue to leave an impression."