Welcome to Pittsburgh, Rutger McGroarty

For the most part, the Pittsburgh Penguins off-season has been very uneventful. This all changed on Thursday as Pens general manager Kyle Dubas traded the team’s number one prospect Brayden Yager to the Winnipeg Jets for their top prospect Rutger McGroarty.

One year after Dubas finally ended the months of Erik Karlsson rumors to obtain him from San Jose, the second-year GM made what could be the biggest trade in recent Penguins memory. Let’s take a look at Rutger McGroarty and who he is and what he brings to the Penguins lineup.

Rutger McGroarty was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2004. The Penguins have had some recent success with Nebraska born players, Jake Guentzel was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and went on to play seven plus seasons with the Pens. 

McGroarty as a young kid spent two seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. He was the first player from the state of Nebraska to play for the USNTDP. Since the age of 16, McGroarty has represented the United States in International play. He also competed at the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game where he recorded an assist and a goal with 2:37 left in regulation to force overtime. He was subsequently named the game’s MVP.

His success between USNTDP and international play made him one of the top overall prospects in the 2022 draft.

McGroarty was selected in the first round, 14th overall , by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL draft. He committed to play college ice hockey for the Michigan Wolverines beginning in the 2022-2023 season. During his freshman season, he recorded 18 goals and 21 assists in 39 games.

The Nebraska native had an even more successful season as a sophomore. He tallied 16 goals and 36 assists in 36 games played. His 52 points ranked second on the team in scoring, whereas his 1.59 points per game ranked fourth in the nation. Following the 2023-2024 season, McGroarty was named to the All-Big Ten First team. 

McGroarty was again named to Team USA’s roster to compete in the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he served as the team captain. During the tournament he recorded five goals and four assists in seven games and helped win the gold medal. 

Prior to the start of the 2024-2025 season, reports emerged that McGroarty refused to sign with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets explored trade options and landed on moving the young winger to the Penguins for top prospect center Brayden Yager. Following the trade, McGroarty immediately signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins.

The trade makes sense for both organizations. The Penguins get a young winger who can possibly play next to Sidney Crosby as early as this season. The Winnipeg Jets get a top prospect at center in Brayden Yager and move on from a prospect who was most likely never going to play in Winnipeg.

McGroarty is a physical player who uses his strength to create space to make plays. The 20-year old winger is 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds and he plays with a high compete level. His leadership qualities were on full display this past season as he helped Team USA win a gold medal. He can win battles, either in front of the net or battling against the boards. McGroarty has excellent vision on the ice and has a pin-point wrist shot that he can use all over the offensive zone. He is physical enough to score the tough goals in front, so he could really help out the Penguins power play. While forechecking he is relentless and could also play help on the penalty kill. 

If he has one weakness, he is not the smoothest skater and lacks the elite speed of some of the other top prospects. That being said, he is a hard worker who never stops moving his feet and will most likely improve his skating over time.

Kyle Dubas did not have the type of money needed to bring in a veteran forward to play with Crosby, so he did the next best thing: he brought in a young and hungry 20-year-old winger who could help to solidify the top six for the Pens. It could be right out of camp, or if McGroarty decides to play one more season at Michigan, he could join the lineup later in the season.