Rutger McGroarty Makes Penguins Opening Night Roster

Rutger McGroarty has worked hard to make the Pittsburgh Penguins’ opening-night roster and has officially received the call.

After Pittsburgh went out and acquired the No. 14 pick from the 2022 NHL Draft, swapping Brayden Yager over to the Winnipeg Jets. McGroarty played throughout the Penguins’ preseason, intending to make it on his first NHL roster — which was officially announced on Monday.

Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas discussed McGroarty making the opening night roster, saying that he wants the 20-year-old forward to be playing — which is why he made the roster and is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday against the New York Rangers.

“If he wasn’t going to be in the lineup, then I wouldn’t want him to be around as a scratch,” Dubas said, as transcribed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Cameron Hoover. “We would want him to be down and playing, he’s earned that. There was nothing guaranteed to him whatsoever. I thought from Buffalo all the way during camp and every practice, every single game, he continued to get better and better as the level raised. I think more so than his skill set, it’s his intelligence and his instincts and his strength and his ability to make reads and make plays, even defensively. It’s not always the highlight-reel stuff that you see in other markets on their prospects. It’s just solid hockey. He’s just a hockey player.”

McGroarty will attempt to make an instant impact when the Penguins kick off their 2024-24 NHL season on Wednesday night against the Rangers. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

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