Summer Check-In: Rutger McGroarty

During his U17 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Rutger McGroarty got a permanent call-up to the U18 team in late February.

There, he played for Dan Muse, now head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think the first thing that stood out is just how much he cares about his players,” said McGroarty, coming off his first professional season with the organization. “I think he's very dedicated to the game and helping his team win. He put in really late hours and very early mornings. Like, it's so cool to see. It makes it very easy to play for him.

“I feel like that is the number one thing that you see with great hockey teams, is the connection with their coach, and the ability to play for their coach and be united as one. I feel like Dan does a really great job with that.”

President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas has pointed to Muse’s proven ability to develop players at all stages of their careers and help them reach their potential. For someone like McGroarty, who was a young player then and is a young player now, the open communication with Muse was hugely beneficial.

“He's such a detailed, awesome communicator and great coach,” McGroarty said. “I was a young guy that was getting called up and they had a couple different systems or whatever it was. He would talk to me about certain aspects of the game, stuff maybe within the system he saw that would help me in the long run. Just a bunch of different things.”

McGroarty felt like Muse taught him something in every conversation. He believes that’s something the veteran players in the Penguins locker room will respond to.

“With guys like Sid and Tanger and Malkin, I feel like they have such a great culture here and such an attention to detail. Just practicing with guys like that and seeing them every day, how they attack it, I feel like Dan will do an incredible job with that,” McGroarty said.

“I feel like he's very dialed in, and he thinks that you can learn something from every day and get better every day. So, I think that he'll fit very well into the culture that's been set over the past 21 years that Sid’s been here and Malkin, and even the guys before them.”

McGroarty first got to experience that at the start of the 2024-25 campaign after being acquired from Winnipeg last August, with Dubas praising his combination of ability, leadership and competitiveness.

McGroarty made his NHL debut in October before getting re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. McGroarty used his time there to improve his strength and work with assistant skating coach Jeff Murray, earning a deserved call-up at the end of March.

In McGroarty’s first game back with Pittsburgh, he played on Crosby’s wing and had a terrific performance the night before his 21^st birthday. He just kept it going from there.

“I feel like at the end of the day, it's just motivated me more to see that's what I can do at that level, and I still have room to grow," McGroarty said. "I still have to get stronger and faster and develop my game. But I feel like that's motivated me so much going into this summer, and I feel like I've been working my bag off trying to come into camp next year proving that I can play at this level for a full year and make an impact.”

McGroarty was skating and working out in Pittsburgh this past week. He's now been training consistently for nearly two months. After WBS was eliminated from the postseason by Lehigh Valley on April 25, which was a Friday, McGroarty returned to the gym the following Wednesday.

His experience has informed his offseason approach not only on the ice and in the gym, but in the video room as well. McGroarty has watched the tape from his NHL appearances down the stretch a lot.

“Probably too much,” McGroarty said with a laugh. “But the four and a half games I played, like, eight times each. Just little details that I can do.”

Looking back, the University of Michigan product realized that producing at the college level is much different than the professional level. And while McGroarty got his overall game to a good spot, the offense wasn’t quite there, though it slowly started coming at the end of the season. He scored his first NHL goal in epic fashion against St. Louis.

“I feel like there's so little time. I feel like I have a great brain, but my completion rate has to be better at making plays in tight little areas,” said McGroarty, whose hockey IQ is reminiscent of two-time Stanley Cup Champion Nick Bonino, someone else who played for Muse.

While McGroarty has been spending around three and a half to four hours a day training, he’s making sure to give his body and mind the proper rest. “Just calming down and spending time with my family, going on the golf course,” he said.

Rutger also went to Hawaii with his girlfriend, saying that walking on the beach and seeing sea turtles was the best part of the trip. He then spent time in Boston for the Bauer combine. Up next is a trip to northern Michigan with fellow Penguins forward Avery Hayes and their significant others.

“I feel like this is a huge summer for me, and I feel like I've been working really hard,” McGroarty said. “But I also have to be a regular guy and have a good balance in life. Because I feel like at the end of the day, that’ll help you in the late season.”