Penguins Update: Is Rutger McGroarty a Good Fit for Mike Sullivan (and Vice Versa)?

Before I begin, I need to be clear. What I’m about to write is just me thinking out loud. In effect, giving voice to my deepest, darkest fears. It has absolutely no basis whatsoever in any published reports or insider scoop.

And Lord knows, I’ve been wrong about things a time or two (or three).

With that proviso, I have this terrible foreboding that we’re, or more specifically—coach Mike Sullivan—is going to botch the development of recently acquired blue-chip prospect Rutger McGroarty.

Perhaps I’m guilty of reading tea leaves that aren’t there. But for lack of a better way to express it, at first blush the former University of Michigan standout doesn’t appear to be a “Sully guy.”

What do I mean by that? Sullivan and his system crave speed. Check that…they demand it. McGroarty is many things…smart, skilled, physically mature. Although hardly a plow horse, fast isn’t one of them.

In a roundabout way, he reminds me of fellow power forward and eternal prospect Sam Poulin. Although not in the same class as McGroarty, Poulin, too, possesses lots of positive attributes, including the ability to excel in traffic. However, he seems to lack the necessary foot speed to “get to the edges,” in hockey parlance. A cardinal shortcoming in Sullivan’s scheme.

I vividly recall when we summoned Poulin last March in the midst of a breakout campaign at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Needless to say, his promotion generated plenty of excitement. After a turbulent couple of seasons, Sam was finally getting a chance to show what he could do on the big-league stage.

Skating on a makeshift fourth line with Jonathan Gruden and Jesse Puljujärvi in his debut, Sam wasn’t super noticeable but did okay while garnering a modest 9:11 of ice. However, his line as a whole scored a goal, provided energy and helped to spark a 4-1 win over Carolina.

Poulin was more effective the next game, a 3-2 victory over Columbus. Logging 9:01 of ice time, he won all three of his draws, delivered three hits and registered two shots on goal. Overall, he was on the ice for 11 shot attempts for and only eight against.

Alas, Poulin also took a penalty that led to a Blue Jackets goal just as he stepped out of the penalty box.

What followed was all-too-predictable. The rookie was virtually stapled to the bench during a subsequent shootout loss to the Jackets (5:10 of ice time) and was returned to the Baby Pens a short while later.

The “Sully treatment.”

Did Poulin do enough to merit a longer look? Maybe. Maybe not. Sullivan likes his players, or at least his kids, to earn their playing time. An admirable tenet. However, it’s hard to make an impression while glued to the bench.

The old chicken or the egg conundrum.

Too, the same rules and standards don’t seem to apply to veterans. Journeyman Colin White got a far longer look…11 games worth…without producing so much as a second assist. Ditto Jansen Harkins, he of no-goals-and-four-assists-in-45 games fame.

You’d think a former first-round pick would merit at least the same opportunity. But Sully seems to a quick hook with kids, Poulin in particular, as well as players who aren’t cut from his small ‘n’ speedy cloth.

Even though he’s shown extremely well in training camp and preseason, I fear the hulking Puljujärvi likewise faces an uphill skate to crack the Pens’ lineup, as opposed to a player like Anthony Beauvillier who darts around the ice and has already become a Sully fave.

Which brings me back to McGroarty. Having bumped the kid from the top line to the third line, not to mention the minor-league group, Sullivan seems to be greasing the skids for Rutger to begin the season with the Baby Pens. And, hey, I’m fine with that. I’d rather have him playing top-line minutes in the AHL than five or six minutes a game with the big club.

However, I do worry about how McGroarty will mesh with Sullivan…and vice versa…down the road, and how it will affect his development.