Penguin Primer for Prospective Draft Picks: Rutger McGroarty

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.”