Rookie Duo Rewarded: Penguins Call Up McGroarty, Koivunen

After Wilkes-Barre/Scranton clinched a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen got some excellent news: they were getting called up to Pittsburgh.

The timing worked out well for the rookie forwards to get some experience at the NHL level ahead of that postseason run, and both were extremely deserving of the opportunity. Koivunen is looking to make his NHL debut, while McGroarty got three games of experience in October.

“This was something that (President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas) and I have talked about for a little bit,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “These two guys are a big reason why Wilkes has had the success that it's enjoyed. They've been pretty impactful... we feel it's important to reward guys for effort and performance. So, it's exciting for us. They bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and I think it'll be great for our group.”

Bryan Rust had a smile on his face when talking about the ‘young bucks,’ as he called them. McGroarty turns 21 on Sunday – “it’s a good birthday present,” he grinned – while Koivunen turns 22 in June.

“Anytime we get some young guys up here, especially ones who are obviously have been doing so well and who are kind of fresh to the organization, I think it’s fun,” said Rust, who was in that same position about a decade ago. “It’s fun to see what they’ve got. They obviously went out there, they worked really hard. You could tell both of them are really, really good players. I’m excited to see what they could do.”

McGroarty did line rushes alongside Rust and Sidney Crosby, while Koivunen also skated at left wing in the top six, with Rickard Rakell at center and Connor Dewar at right wing.

“My intention with players of this caliber is that we're trying to set them up for success, and we're also trying to put them in roles where they have an opportunity to play to their strengths,” Sullivan said. “They’re different in how they play, but both of these guys have high hockey IQs. They're both real competitive guys. They both have an offensive dimension to their game.”

Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza, who oversees WBS, called McGroarty a “huge success story for us right now in terms of just continuing to get better.”

After appearing in those three games for Pittsburgh, McGroarty was re-assigned to WBS, and struggled offensively to begin with. But Spezza said that might have been the best thing that could have happened to the forward out of the University of Michigan, acquired from Winnipeg in the offseason.

“Because he's probably our first penalty killer over the boards, he's on late in games and he does so many things that allow us to win hockey games that don't show up on the scoresheet,” Spezza said. “Unless you're watching the games every night, it's hard to notice. Even during the times when he wasn't scoring, we were happy with how things were going."

And now, McGroarty is scoring. No WBS player has been hotter over the last month and a half, with a team-leading 18 points since Feb. 15. Overall, he’s got 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games played.

“He’s been close to a point of game pace since Thanksgiving. He’s put the work in,” WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald said. “He's really smart. His reads on the penalty kill and around the netfront on the power play have been outstanding, and he does a really good job finding space.”

McGroarty said confidence in himself and his style of play in the pro game are where he’s grown the most this season. As a college player who typically only played on Fridays and Saturdays, if McGroarty had a bad game, he’d think about it all week. But McGroarty has gotten much stronger mentally, learning to attack each day the same.

“I think overall, my game hasn’t necessarily changed. Like, I’m still the same player. But I’ve just matured a lot,” said McGroarty, who has been working on his skating with assistant skating coach Jeff Murray, saying they’ve focused on micromovements to strengthen his hips and groin to keep Rutger from hunching.

“It’s been incredible. I’ve become a lot stronger. And I just think my overall 200-foot game has just grown a lot.”

He’s played with Koivunen all season, with the Finnish forward also in his first season with the Penguins organization after being acquired from Carolina as part of the Jake Guentzel trade. Koivunen has 21 goals, the most by a WBS rookie since Daniel Sprong in 2017-18, and 55 points. That total ranks sixth in the entire American Hockey League.

“You guys see what he does numbers-wise. But you guys don’t see the behind the scenes,” McGroarty said. “He’s one of the first guys in the rink, one of the last guys to leave. He attacks every day. He works super hard, and it’s super cool to see him get this opportunity.”

Everyone who knows Koivunen says that his competitiveness is underrated, and that’s been a big part of his success this season. The 5-foot-11, 161-pound forward also worked hard on his speed and physicality, saying he’s gotten stronger and a little bit faster, which has helped him a lot. But Spezza says Ville’s brain is his best quality.

“I think he's really smart, has a great hockey sense and has done a great job using it,” Spezza said.

Koivunen has done his best to just be himself, “and that’s led me here.” He wants to bring those qualities and show he can play here and make an impact right away. Which tracks with the captain’s advice, which is just to make the most of their opportunity, and have fun with it.

“The game's the same, maybe a little bit faster. The guys are little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, maybe. But for the most part, it's the same game,” Crosby said. “So, I think, just trust your instincts and continue to learn with each and every game, practice. Just have to learn as much as you can. But yeah, I think just rely on your instincts as best as you can."