Participating in their first practice session a day after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen weren't just relegated to third or fourth line duties. Mike Sullivan had different plans for them. 

The two young prospects, after finding success through a large sample of games at the AHL level this season, were instead skating alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell Saturday morning at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. 

Sullivan said the decision to prominently feature Koivunen and McGroarty on the top two lines, as well as the two power-play units, was made to help set the two up for success and put them in roles where they have an opportunity to play to their strengths. 

"Both of these guys have high hockey IQs. They're both real competitive guys. They both have an offensive dimension of their game," Sullivan said. "They're different in how they play, but we think that with the combinations we had out there today, potentially they could be complementary on the lines that they're on. We'll see how it goes. We'll talk as a coaching staff after this and decide what we liked and if we need to tweak, but that was something that we thought we would start there and see where it goes." 

McGroarty, who scored 14 goals and registered 39 points in 60 games in the AHL this season, skated on the left side of a first line that featured Crosby at center and Rust on the right side Saturday. He also spent time on the second power-play unit alongside Phil Tomasino, Kevin Hayes, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. 

McGroarty experienced a taste of NHL action when he appeared in three games in October out of training camp, and he hopes to serve as a complementary piece wherever he ends up playing this time around. A heightened sense of confidence in his ability and style of play at the professional level should help him find better success in this second stint with Pittsburgh. 

"Overall, my game hasn't necessarily changed," McGroarty said. "I'm still the same player, but I've matured a lot and there's more confidence with the puck. I think that's the main thing, my confidence with the puck and making plays."

Koivunen has stood out as one of the best players in the entire AHL this season. He's posted 21 goals -- tied for the team lead -- and 34 assists in 62 games and leads all AHL rookies in points while ranking sixth among all players in points. 

This is Koivunen's first NHL call up, but he was immediately tasked with playing on the team's second line during Saturday's practice. He played alongside Rakell and Connor Dewar before joining Crosby, Rakell, Rust and Matt Grzelcyk on the top power-play unit. 

"It feels great, of course," Koivunen said of getting the opportunity to immediately play within the top six. "I think my strengths are with the puck, so it feels great to come out and be on the top two lines." 

Koivunen said his ultimate goal in receiving this first opportunity to play in the NHL is to prove he can compete at this level, use his strengths to his advantage and make an immediate impact. 

It seems, though, that both McGroarty and Koivunen have already made an impact in the eyes of their veteran teammates before they even step foot on the ice for in-game action. 

"I think any time we get some young guys up here, especially ones who have obviously been doing so well and who are kind of fresh to the organization, it's fun to see what they've got," Rust said. "They obviously went out there, worked really hard and you can tell both of them are really good players. I'm excited to see what they can do."