When someone hears Rutger McGroarty, you remember the young kid drafted 14th overall by the Winnipeg Jets. This summer, everything changed when McGroarty was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Brayden Yager.
Two years ago, when McGroarty was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, he reflected on the feelings from that night. “I feel like it’s every little kid’s dream to have their name involved in the NHL somehow. I feel like once that day I got drafted, I feel like it was an incredible moment for me and my family. Even after, I don’t mean to sound like that cliche guy; I feel like the hard work truly starts after that. I feel like the amount that you have to do after that to continue to grow your game and continue to get better. I feel like that is just the starting line. It was an unbelievable day for my family and I.”
Before joining the collegiate and professional ranks, McGroarty started in youth hockey with Honeybaked 13U and Honeybaked 14U. A unique start to his youth hockey is that his father, Jim McGroarty, was his assistant coach and head coach. “It was awesome. I feel like everyone, when it comes to fathers and sons with hockey, you hear about all these bad relationships and the dad being too hard on the kid or picking favorites. Once, my dad was my coach; he treated me like another player, and he has an incredible hockey mind. Being able to learn from him for those two years was spectacular. Once we got home at the kitchen table, we left that behind us, and we have a great relationship, so it was awesome.” After playing for Honeybaked, McGroarty went on to play for the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies in 15U and 16U and dressed in a total of 73 games and tallied 90 goals and 89 assists.
After youth hockey, McGroarty moved on to the United States National Team Development Program. He played in 55 games for the USNTDP in the USHL and totaled 27 goals and 25 assists. While with the US National U17 and US National U18 teams, he dressed in 107 games. During those games, McGroarty tapped into his playmaking and gathered 55 goals with 55 assists. McGroarty reflected on what he learned and what he applies to his game in the current day: “I would say just the everyday grind. I feel like you’re going into the rink, skating for two hours, and working out for two hours, and guys are still doing extra on top of that. The everyday grind of just being at the rink, loving the game, grinding through it, and getting close with your buddies. There is a curfew at NTP, so just teaching you good fundamentals and good habits like getting to bed on time. I feel like those are the biggest things I learned from NTP.”
McGroarty played in the World Junior Championships four times. He played alongside Anaheim Ducks Left Winger Cutter Gauthier and Columbus Blue Jackets Right Winger Gavin Brindley. “With Cutter [Gauthier] and Gavin [Brindley] being my teammates, they are big acts and great guys. World Juniors as a whole brings the best U20 players all to one spot in the world and play the sport we love. It was a cool tournament for me and winning that tournament, winning the gold and being the captain was a special moment for me.” McGroarty was Captain for two out of four tournaments, U18 Juniors in 2021-2022 and U20 Juniors in 2023-2024. “I pride myself on my leadership abilities and my leadership qualities and having the guys vote me as their Captain and David Carl trusting me being the captain, especially coming back from my injury. It was a really cool moment for me and my family. I feel like it doesn’t change who I am on a daily basis if I have a letter and I feel like I’m the same guy coming into the room”
After USNTDP ended, McGroarty went on to the University of Michigan to start his collegiate career. In the 2022-2023 season, McGroarty dressed in 39 games and posted 18 goals and 21 assists. In the 2023-2024 season, he posted 16 goals and 36 assists. McGroarty reflected on some of his favorite moments from Michigan: “It’s truly the best spot in the world. The relationships you developed there and the guys that are there, you all have goals. I feel like even guys that are there, there’s a guy on our team from last year that he retired and he is full-time engineer. I feel like it’s the relationships that you build, and nothing but successful people go to the University of Michigan. It’s awesome.” During McGroarty’s two seasons at the University of Michigan, he dressed in the Frozen Four tournament. “I feel like the angle for all college teams, I think there is 64, is to be in the final four. So, to be there and play against Boston College and Quinnipiac my first year, you wanna get the job done and win the national championship is the end goal. Still, it shows how great of a season we had, and we were just two wins away from winning it all.”
The AHL is a developmental league for players to be guided and work on their strengths while also turning their weaknesses into strengths. McGroarty started the season in Pittsburgh but was sent down after three games. He speaks on what he needs to work on to get to the next level: “I feel like honestly, every day, obviously I’m 20 years old, and I played college hockey last year, so every day adapting to the pro game and just working on everything. I know that sounds super broad, but it’s true. Just working on my overall game and getting more control of the pro game and playing against men. The travel, the time at the rink, and continuing to adapt my game at the pro level. On the ice, just everything, my wall play, my net play, my d-zone, my skating, my shot. I feel like everything I can get better at.”
McGroarty comes from a hockey family and jokes about how he got his start in hockey: “I was born on a Tuesday, and I went into hockey on a Friday. I was three days old. My dad was GM and Head Coach of the Lincoln Stars for a long time and Assistant Coach in Omaha when I was born. When I was two, we moved to Lincoln, so I went to an Omaha Lancers game when I was three days old, and then I grew up in the Lincoln Rink.”
Some players are superstitious on game days, and some just go with the flow. McGroarty is part of the latter: “I feel like every day is different for me. I feel like kind of going back to what I need to work on. I feel like if I just do the same stuff every single day, How am I gonna grow from that? So, every day, I kind of just work on new things. On game day, there is some stuff I do routinely, but I eat my meal 6 hours before a game. So for a 7 pm game, I’m eating my meal at 1 pm. Napping, depends on how I slept the night before and how I tape my stick. I really don’t have that many superstitions.”
Players have a mindset they get into when it is game time to help them focus on the 60 minutes ahead of them. “Kind of just get into a zone. I feel like just compete and I am always so laser focused. I feel like the one thing that makes me a successful hockey player is my hockey IQ. I feel like just being able to read different plays but also be competitive while I’m doing that, that’s my mindset.”
The summer isn’t a time of relaxation when it comes to training for professional athletes. It is no different for McGroarty. “I work out Monday through Saturday at 8:30. I trust my trainer, and also, I have an idea of stuff that I need to work on. My agents, my coaches, and I have a lot of input from different people with stuff that I need to work on. So, I tell my trainers what I need to work on and map out a plan. The gym where I work out is a very high-end gym called GVN. The Hughes brothers work out there, Cole Caufield, Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski; there are some high-end NHLers there, so I feel like I trust my trainers a good amount and they set up a plan for me. On the ice, I take input from a lot of other people, and I will just go work on it on the ice.”
McGroarty is a player who relentlessly attacks from the inside with his skill and physical nature. He delays his playmaking ability and deceives the opponent, but he ultimately becomes precise and identifies the play. While with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, McGroarty will be under the coaching of Kirk Macdonald, Nick Luukko, and Sheldon Brookbank.
