Our friend Mike mentioned the name Rutger McGroarty as a player he would like to see our Pittsburgh Penguins draft with their 21st pick. Mike you aren’t the only one out there tying McGroarty to the Black-and-Gold. There is a draft site called Draft Utopia that has GM Ron Hextall taking McGroarty.
After pouring through all the scouting reports and watching several full games played by McGroarty, if I said Brad Lambert was the epitome of a Mike Sullivan type player, Rutger McGroarty is the exact opposite. Mike, you, me, Rick Buker, and probably half of Penguin Poop may love to see McGroarty don a Penguins sweater, but I can hear Sullivan whispering to Hextall and any other ear he can reach, “please not McGroarty”.
So, who is Rutger McGroarty
| Position | Center | Shoots | Right |
| Born | March 30, 2004 | Age | 18 |
| City of Birth | Lincoln | State | Nebraska |
| Country | USA | Citizenship | American |
| Height | 6’-1” | Weight | 200 lbs |
Is it me or is Rutger a really good, tough Hockey name. After watching him play I can easily see Rutger Hauer as Navarre in Ladyhawke.
| Regular | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | Pnts | PIM | +/- | POST | GP | G | A | Pnts | PIM | +/- |
| 2017-18 | Honeybaked 13U AAA | HPHL 13U | 17 | 40 | 7 | 47 | 0 | – | |||||||
| 2018-19 | Honeybaked 14U AAA | HPHL 14U | 20 | 25 | 29 | 54 | 8 | – | |||||||
| 2019-20 | Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15U AAA “C” | HPHL 15U | 9 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 8 | – | |||||||
| Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15U AAA “C” | 15U AAA | 63 | 82 | 78 | 160 | – | 90 | ||||||||
| Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 16U AAA | HPHL 16U | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | ||||||||
| 2020-21 | U.S. National U17 Team | USDP | 34 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 26 | – | |||||||
| U.S. National U18 Team | USDP | 19 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
| USNTDP Juniors | USHL | 30 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 22 | -7 | ||||||||
| USA U18 | WJC-18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 | U.S. National U18 Team | USDP | 54 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 65 | 54 | |||||||
| USNTDP Juniors | USHL | 25 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 26 | 24 | ||||||||
| USA U18 “C” | WJC-18 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 8 |
Skating
Why do I say McGroarty is not a Sullivan player? Simply put I didn’t see anything in his game that would make me think that he had a try out for the Ice-Capades. Scott Hamilton or even Ned Braden, McGroarty is not.
Ben Kerr of the Last Word On Hockey wrote,
“Skating is the weakest part of McGroarty’s game. His stride is short and choppy. This robs him of power, acceleration, and top-end speed. McGroarty can keep up with the play well enough at the junior level but has trouble creating separation from defenders. His agility and edgework are above-average but this is another area that he can work on. His ability to get away from defenders and weave through traffic will need to improve in order for McGroarty to take his game to the next level.”
From what I watched; I can’t argue with Kerr over McGroarty’s skating mechanics. They were far from the greatest I have every witnessed. In fact, there is a consensus from everywhere I looked. Paul Zuk of SMAHTHockey, and Matthew Zator of the Hockey Writers as well as most other writers agree, McGroarty needs to work on his skating.
Paul Zuk of SMAHTHockey wrote, “[Skating] Perhaps the weakest part of his game mechanically speaking, McGroarty’s skating isn’t necessarily the prettiest thing to watch”
However, he followed that statement up with, “McGroarty’s stride seems to be a little deeper and more powerful than others, but what he gains in power, he sort of loses in overall speed. He’s shown flashes of being able to exhibit much quicker feet and explosiveness with the puck on his stick but will need to make it a consistent part of his overall game”
Thinking about about Zuk’s comment, that would explain why I didn’t see any players blowing passed him or really making him look out of place on the ice.
Scott Wheeler of the Athletic would seem to agree here,
“He worked on his skating this summer, he’s committed to it, it’s improving. I’ve never seen him lose a puck race or a puck battle because of his skating, and I think because his mind is so good that he’s able to play the game fast”
Furthermore, skating mechanics can be taught. Therefore, although I agree it is a weakness of McGoarty, I don’t worry about it. As I will show, McGroarty’s assets far outweigh this minor limitation.
Stick/Puck Handling Skills
Despite watching a lot of videos of McGroarty, I really didn’t see him handle the puck enough to comment on this. I guess that shouldn’t be all that surprising, considering that McGroarty isn’t a Ned Braden or Brad Lambert skater type. However, in McGroarty’s defense, I did see him shield the puck with his body as he made a power move around an opponent, and I am more than okay with that. Using a power move, when you actually have a power move vs trying to stick handle is a sign of a high hockey IQ – he uses his natural gifts to their best advantage. It would not be very smart for a Boxer to try and out wrestle a Wrestler or a Wrestler try to box a Boxer.
If I ever get a chance to talk to Ben Kerr, I would love to make this point with him. In one comment he complains “He also struggles in skating with the puck through the neutral zone. This is mainly due to his lack of speed. Instead of generating zone entries, he looks to move the puck to a teammate to carry the puck over the blue line” when writing of McGroarty and in another quote writing “McGroarty has strong puck protection skills. This helps him to be effective in the cycle game, controlling the puck down low and extending possession.”
Whether a player is using his body to shield the puck or fast hands the end result is the same, puck possession.
I would also like to hear what would be said between Paul Zuk and Ben Kerr. Zuk was cited as writing,
“When breaking into the offensive zone, McGroarty likes to carry the puck and often cut towards the middle lane, allowing his linemates to fill in the other gaps and set up for a chance on net. While he loves to exploit the middle lane as often as he can, he would benefit a lot from breaking out wide more often. If he can work on his explosiveness as previously mentioned, he would be able to beat defenders wide more often, which should lead to more chances.”
I may not have seen McGroarty attempt skating the puck in to the attacking zone but Zuk would seem have noted some entries. Does Kerr only consider wide entries, entries?
Hockey IQ
The great thing about the video of McGroarty that I got to watch compared to the video of Lambert is that I got to watch full game video and not just highlight video. Why that is important is that I got to watch what this kid did behind the play.
In the Offensive Zone, when McGroarty was carrying the puck, he displayed good vision, able to find open players and more importantly open players in good scoring areas. When there were no openings, McGroarty didn’t try and force any bad passes, he just reset the cycle.
Kerr noted McGoarty’s ability to find open players but seems to think that the smart play is somehow a problem.
“He makes smart passes to keep the puck moving as well. However, he plays the safe pass a little too often. McGroarty could work on being a little more creative and making more passes across the ice, in order to set up better-scoring chances.”
I am pretty sure most of us here on Penguin Poop would prefer to limit those high-risk cross-ice passes to sure things.
What may be more impressive than what McGroarty does in the Offensive Zone with the puck on his stick is what he does when he doesn’t have the puck. He seems to be able to read the puck carrier and almost always looks to give his teammate a lane to pass through so that he can be an option, rather than taking himself out of the play, as I have complained about a particular Winger that exists on our Penguins NHL roster.
Zuk notes,
“McGroarty has quite impressive vision on the ice, especially in the offensive zone when it comes to making plays. Often, he’s able to hit a teammate with a seam pass for a tap in goal, which many other players wouldn’t have the skill or gall to attempt. He’s able to do it while oozing confidence and is usually rewarded with a primary assist.”
In the Defensive Zone, McGroarty used his vision to anticipate opponents play attempts to break up passes. And when he got control of the loose puck he created, he quickly was able to find the right player, going North, to facilitate the breakout, rather than skating the puck around while trying to decide what to do.
Shooting
Shooting is McGroarty’s forte. He has a quick release and a hard shot.
Austin Broad of FC Hockey wrote,
“In my opinion, this [his shot] is McGroarty’s best individual tool. He has the most dangerous shot out of all of the 2022 draft eligible players I’ve seen thus far in this draft class. He has the triple threat in terms of his shot, his deftness to deceive goalies with his ability to release his shot from any angle, and his accuracy to pick his spot and generates the power that will beat goalies from anywhere.”
Watching McGroarty doesn’t tell the whole story. I became even more impressed when I looked at his shot charts.
McGroarty is not afraid to go to the dirty areas. As I have noted before, I am tired of perimeter players, McGroarty is not one of them
Physicality
I have already written a great deal about McGroarty’s Physicality even before I got to this point of this discussion. This kid’s physicality is evident in all facets of his game. I have already noted how McGroarty uses his frame in puck possession and his penchant rather than allergy to go to the dirty areas. Let me add this, McGroarty finishes his checks. He puts body on body in all 3 zones. And get this, like a certain former Swedish phenom that not all that long ago collected a paycheck here in the ‘burgh, McGroarty separates the puck from his opponent when he hits them.
Conclusion
Mike, I understand why you put McGroarty as your top pick of who you hope the Mr. Hextall drafts. I wouldn’t be unhappy. He just may be the best available forward around the time our Penguins draft. Furthermore, from everything I saw and read, I would love to see this kid in Penguins uniform. However, if I can only draft one player, I am hoping for a Defenseman.
My only concern about drafting McGroarty is that he has committed to playing College Hockey next season so I am not sure how that would impact when our Penguins could benefit from him.
Let me leave you gentle readers with some quotes as to McGroarty’s NHL potential
Matthew Zator of the Hockey Writers
“McGroarty has the ability to become a solid top-six player in the NHL with his power foward potential and goalscorer’s mentality. He will be an asset on the power play with his size and heavy shot and dynamic presence all over the ice at even strength. Clicking around Twitter, I saw him compared to Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers, which is fair since his work ethic, and ability to make his linemates better are very much like the former Maple Leaf star. I believe he will end up being a more productive version in his prime, as Hyman doesn’t nearly have the shot McGroarty has.”
Paul Zuk
“Overall, Rutger McGroarty is going to make whichever team that selects him quite happy in the seasons to come.”
No to McGroaty. After watching Colorado skate everyone off the ice, I wouldn’t be looking at a #1 pick who has skating issues. Does anyone really think it a good idea to risk drafting Poulin 2.0? His prospect profiles viewed him as having only minor skating issues.
When you watched Colorado skate away with the Cup, did you take note of the size of the players?
Of the 21 skaters the Avs used in the playoffs only Cogliano, Girard, Newhook, Makar, and Aube-Kubel checked in under 72″ tall, 5 of 21. In the meantime, of the 21 skaters Sullivan used Crosby, Rodrigues, Guentzel Rust, Zucker, Freidman, and Rhuwedel checked in under that magic number – 7 of 21. When you distill that down to the Height and Weight of each team at any given moment on the ice the Average Av was over 73″ tall, the average Penguin was under with a difference approaching 1/2″. The difference in size becomes even more pronounced when looking at Weight. the Avs average weight 198.9lbs, the Penguins Average Weight was 192.4lbs. Of the Avs big guns only Makar is under 72″ of the Penguins top players, Crosby, Guentzel, Rust, and Zucker.
Now look at Makar, he is only 23, Crosby is 34, Zucker 30, Rust 29, and Guentzel 27. Not only are the Penguins stars small but far, far older. Being younger, he can still take the pounding of the bigger players on him better. He still has youth on his size. He heals much faster.
Now let’s see how that translates, the Avs 36.87 hits/60, the Penguins 26.89
Hmm that extra 1/2″ and nearly 7 lbs made the Avs more aggressive.
Before being dismissive Zeidel, read all that has been written about the kid and then watch him play. I watched him play and Wheeler of the Athletic was spot on, I didn’t see him lose a puck race or have anyone blow past him.
As for skating being the be all to end all, go look up the scouting reports of Konstantin Koltsov, a former Penguin from the 90s. Watch him skate, then look at his career stats and the teams numbers when he was here. Hockey is not the Ice-Capades. It is not a kitty-cat petting contest. There are far more important things then skating around the perimeter.
Bringing up Koltsov is a classic example of the argument fallacy called “arguing from the extreme.” It’s a very, very weak form of argument. I’m saying that being a top good skater is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for picking a player in round 1.
As far as size of the Avalanche players, you are just cherry picking data that suits your pre-exiting bias. Let’s look at players sizes on teams that failed. How about the Flyers? Pretty bad team, right? Of the 24 players on this year’s Flyer’s roster, only 6 were under 6-0 and only 7 were under 6-1. It doesn’t seem to have done them much good. By your logic, the Flyers show that big players should be avoided.
As far as comments by people like Wheeler are concerned, scouting reports of prospects should be taken with a grain of salt. You can look back at past drafts and find plenty of glowing reports about players who never played a single NHL game. I get a chuckle at all the keyboard experts who make rabid declarations that the Pens *must* draft this guy or that. I’ve no idea who they should draft, just that speed and skill should be the prime concern in round #1 if they go forward. That’s where the vast majority of top scores come from. After that, they can diversify.
As far as watching his attributes, plenty of bigger players have looked great when they have the size advantage over competition with smaller junior players, but lose it when they have to deal with the NHL. Skating ability is far easier judge and is much less dependent on level of player. That makes it a better diagnostic criterion for player selection.
Overall, I agree that the Pens need to get some bigger, or a least tougher, players. But that should not be the prime criterion in the first round.
Bringing up Koltsov is hardly arguing from the extreme, he is just one example of a player that had tons of speed but no hands. Size, Skill, and Speed are independent variables, there are big people that can fly on skates, there are big people who have tons of skill, there are fast skaters with no skill. Furthermore, there are skaters that can skate really fast in a straight line but not weave in traffic with speed, or even at all and there are players with such IQ that even though they aren’t fast, they get to the puck first because they know where the puck is going, they can read the plays that well and get there first.
As for me cherry picking data, sorry, you chose the discussion of the Avs, not me, unfortunately they do not suit your narrative about being small. I can’t help that. I just brought to light the facts.
As for the Flyers, perhaps I was not very clear; my numbers above were limited to players who participated in the playoffs. Therefore, bringing up the Flyers regular season numbers is an apples to oranges comparison
No matter let’s compare. It only justifies my point and weakens your argument. To avoid confusion, the numbers I present, numbers on stats that you brought up are average Heights and Weights of 4 teams based not on who was on the roster at any given point in the season, but based on the average Height and Weight of the 4 teams skaters who participated in regular season games with the number normalized to Time On the Ice, so that if a 6’-7” skater was relegated to the press box or bench rather than getting much ice time, his numbers only affected the Average to the percentage his limited ice time represented. (Let’s face it, at one time our Penguins had Ryan Reaves but he was allowed to skate much in game situations.)
Flyers – Hgt: 73.0”, Wgt: 193.6, Non-Playoff Team
Penguins – Hgt: 72.9, Wgt: 194.4, First Round Exit.
Avs – Hgt: 72.9, Wgt: 198.2, Western Conference and Cup Winner
Bolts – Hgt: 73.7, Wgt: 205.8 Eastern Conference Winner
The interesting thing is, yes, your assumption that the Flyers are not a very good team. They were in the half of the league that failed to make the playoffs. However, your comment that they are a big team doesn’t really have merit. They are roughly the same Hgt as the Pens and the Avs in Hgt but smaller than the Eastern Conference Champions by almost an inch.
In terms of Wgt, they were the lightest of the 4 teams during the regular season. Regardless of who was on their roster or Bench, their Coach chose to give ice time to the smaller player. Maybe that is why they had to pay the price of watching another post-season and not participating in it.
Remember, you chose the Flyers, not me for this comparison.
If you read, I am not saying that McGroarty is my choice for who the Pens should draft, only that he is a better choice than Lambert – so far. I haven’t gotten to who I want the team to pick (assuming that they don’t trade picks)
Regarding Wheeler, I do not take his word for it, with respect to McGroarty’s skating, I watched full game films and not just highlights. No one outskated him. He did not look lost. He was evident in all 3 zones. I didn’t have to look for him. Skating is important but so are other skills. It doesn’t matter if a player is faster if he can’t do anything with the puck.
As for the Pens 1st pick, unless they trade up, there will not be any blue-chip players for them to draft. The speedy talent guys will in all likelihood be gone, only the speedy iffy guys will be left. Guys like Daniel Sprong who had skill but tumbled down the draft because of their lack of other important ingredients. However, there just might be some skilled grit guys.
When I first started following hockey, there were only 12 teams. The 21st pick would almost be a 3rd round pick. Pickings get pretty slim by 21.
Zeidel
For me it comes down to balance. The Pen’s need an influx of size and toughness. It’s great to have speed
and skill but the Pen’s have proven that’s not enough to have success in the playoffs. You think Patrick
Maroon is a great skater?? He played a pivotal role and hoisted the Stanley Cup two straight years before
getting beat by the Avs to spoil the Lightning’s chance for a 3-peat. McGroarty would be an excellent pick
for the Pen’s if he’s still available at #21 – if you watch him play he possesses all the intangibles that good
teams look for in a player, and his Hockey IQ is off the charts – he know’s how to play and more than
compensates for being a step slow – He’s a winner. Plus the kid is 18, has a great work ethic and will continue
to improve as a skater. If Hextall can land him in the draft the Pen’s management will be doing back-flips.
GO PENS
Hey Mike,
I watched several of McGroarty’s games. He may have been playing against other Prospects but non of those prospects were significantly faster than him. There may be 1 guy I would take before McGroarty at the 21st spot in the draft, but I certainly would be not get upset if Hextall grabbed him at that point. It is not like the Penguins were drafting in the top 10 and we were suggesting the Kid was a top 10 pick.
“but I can hear Sullivan whispering to Hextall and any other ear he can reach, “please not McGroarty”.
I guess Sullivan didn’t whisper loud enough when the Pens picked Poulin who is very similar – another big, skating impaired big forward.
I
Let’s see, after losing to the Caps in 2018, Sullivan’s GM came out and said the star RW Kessel had been playing injured. Said Coach then jumped into the media, insubordinately contradicting (a fire able offense) his GM saying that Kessel was not injured. The following year, after getting swept by the Isles, said Coach whined in the media like Jake Blues (John Belushi) at the end of the movie when confronted by the female assailant (Carrie Fischer) that is wasn’t his fault, the players just refused to do what he wanted, effectively saying he had no control over his team (a fire able offense). Said Coach, having stripped his team of almost every player he inherited and won the Cup with has failed to make it out of the 1st round 4 years in a row (actually 1 season losing in the weird qualifying round before the actual regular playoffs started, losing to the 23rd ranked team), effectively making our Penguins a middle third team in the league.
(All verifiable facts, matters of public record)
. Any good GM would do the opposite of what that coach whispered.
The Other Rick & Rick
I’m with you on this one. We tried Sullivan’s way and his refusal and ego has cost us dearly. It’s time to
make the necessary changes so we can start the journey to contend for another Cup. It amazes me that
fans who watch Hockey resist the obvious about the teams lack of toughness & grit. If your happy with
mediocrity then we can continue down the same road we’ve been traveling for the last 4 or 5 years.
Amen Mike
Hey Other Rick,
Another great job. Straight lines. Size and an inclination to use it. Great shot. McGroarty sounds like the type of player the Pens could sorely use. But you’re right…he doesn’t sound like a Sully guy due to his perceived skating issues.
At some point in time, Sullivan’s going to have to bend on his preferred type of player. Yes, speed, is important, but so are other elements and attributes.
Rick
Thanks Rick,
Agreed speed is important but…
1) Speed doesn’t preclude size or grit. There are big guys that can motor and there are gritty guys that can skate.
2) Sullivan has already unbalanced this team with too many skaters and no grit. They whine, cough up the puck, or take stupid penalties when they get hit. Physical play is not something you can do as a hobby. A player has to have it throughout his game or he will chose the wrong time to use it.
3) Speed isn’t the only way to protect the puck.
4) Speeding around the perimeter only exhausts the one moving. Our Penguins speed does nothing to wear down our opponents. They just sit back and watch us exhaust ourselves and then swat us when we start to venture too close or slow down from over-exertion. Gnats are fast but eventually get swatted.
5) When this team was winning Cups, there was balance. Not only did we have Hagelins and Rusts but Coles, Boninos Kunitzes Kuhnhackls, and Fehrs, And the Boninos, Coles, Kuhnhackls and Rusts were high priced FA costing us an arm and a leg each. Kuhnhackl and Rust were on ELCs and Bonino and Cole came in trades but still had manageable contracts.
Rick
Amen – good blend and balance is the key.
As you might remember me saying, I like this time of year for playing GM!!
As far as the draft, it will obviously depend on who is available at # 21, you never know, a top prospect could drop depending on other teams needs but my picks for 21….
1. Liam Ohgren lw
2. Lian Bischel D
3. Rutger Mcgroarty C
4. Jagger Firkus C
The Penguins need to hit on this pick.
Amen, Pens4ever, to hitting on this pick.
Rick
Hey Pens4ever,
Agreed, I love to play GM, even though what I want hasn’t happened in a long time – I keep playing.
I am hoping to get through 10 or so players that should be around our Penguins pick.
I haven’t gotten to my number 1 pick so far but I will let everyone know when I get there.
Rick B already knows, the poor guy, he has to put up with me at least 5 days per week.
Between McGroarty and Lambert, I would rather have McGroarty.
Lambert has great speed and hands, really good skills but is lazy and effort level not consistent.