The Controversial Rutger McGroarty Breaks Silence After Being Demoted by the Pittsburgh Penguins

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Graham Montgomery
October 30, 2024 (6:22 PM)

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Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Rutger McGroarty recently talked with reporters about what he needs to do to improve his game at the NHL level.

The 20-year-old forward infamously was traded to the Penguins in August by the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Penguins prospect Brayden Yager. At the time, McGroarty was expressing frustration with the fact that he hadn't earned a regular role with the Jets yet and was looking to expedite his path to the NHL. However, that quickly backfired as the Penguins demoted him to the AHL after just three games this season. McGroarty has since shown some good character development, opening up to reporters about what he needs to do to improve his game and get back into the NHL for good. Importantly, he showed a lot of humility in his comments and appears to have been humbled by the experience.

"You hear about the NHL your whole life, but you don't really know what it's like until you're there. For me, reflecting on it, coming down here, I can definitely work on more things in the [offensive zone]. I feel like defensively, I was good [with the Penguins], but in the [offensive zone], holding onto pucks, taking pucks to the net - you hear about the NHL and how fast it is, so you're trying to get pucks on and off your tape. I feel like there's definitely opportunities for me to hold onto pucks and take pucks to the net or just create more by myself.

I'm still 20 years old, so this is my first good kick at the can with pro hockey. So just kind of getting used to the pro game, getting used to the schedule and taking advantage of every day. That's the biggest thing, caring about my development, attacking every day and just keep getting better and better."

So far in the American League, things have not gone much better for him at least on the score sheet. Through four games he still has failed to record a point. However, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins head coach Kirk McDonald says he is not worried about that.

"To me, the stat sheet is really not indicative of what he's doing right now. Once one goes in for him, I think a lot are going to go in. To me, the stats are almost like, eventually they're going to take care of themselves. It's a long season."

With any luck, we could see McGroarty back in the NHL this season. However, it does seem as though the team will be taking a slightly more conservative approach to his development after he struggled in his three games to start the season. Be sure to keep an eye on the team for his potential return to the lineup.