Sport
McGroarty Reigns Supreme: PensBurgh’s Top Prospect
Hobey Baker top-10 finalist Rutger McGroarty is forgoing his final two years at the University of Michigan in order to aim for his NHL debut in Pittsburgh this season.
Graduates and departed players from last year’s list
The best of the rest
#25: Raivis Ansons
#24: Kirill Tankov
#23: Isaac Belliveau
#22: Taylor Gauthier
#21: Chase Pietila
#20: Emil Jarventie
#19: Kalle Kangas
#18: Joona Vaisanen
#17: Filip Kral
#16: Mac Swanson
#15: Jonathan Gruden
#14: Cruz Lucius
#13: Emil Pieniniemi
#12: John Ludvig
#11: Mikhail Ilyin
#10: Harrison Brunicke
#9: Tristan Broz
#8: Sam Poulin
#7: Tanner Howe
#6: Vasily Ponomarev
#5: Ville Koivunen
#4 Sergei Musharov
#3: Owen Pickering
#2: Joel Blomqvist
#1: Rutger McGroarty, F
2023 Ranking: N/A
Age: 20 (Mar. 30, 2004)
Acquired Via: Aug. 22 trade with Winnipeg Jets for Brayden Yager (signed to three-year ELC)
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 205 pounds
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The Jets selected McGroarty with the No. 14 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, and his stock as a forward prospect has only risen since. You can see why in the clips below. He’s an aggressive forechecker with a heavy shot who was a key part of the University of Michigan power play last season.
Despite missing time due to a frightening injury that saw him stretchered off the ice in November, McGroarty was a top-ten NCAA producer with 16 goals and 36 assists in his sophomore season for the Wolverines. He finished the season as a finalist for the Hobey Baker award as the top player in college hockey.
McGroarty recovered from his injury in time to captain Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he contributed five goals and four assists for nine points in seven tournament games.
McGroarty told the Jets he would not sign in Winnipeg because he didn’t see a path to making the club’s NHL roster in 2024-25, according to The Athletic’s Murat Ates and NHL.com’s Wes Crosby.
According to Ates, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said in May that the Jets were “more than willing to turn him pro” before McGroarty announced his return to Michigan.
“I think Rutger is looking for an even bigger role where he can help lead a team to greatness and help his development there,” Cheveldayoff said in May, per Ates.
As Ates described it: “The Jets didn’t view McGroarty as ready to (help during the playoffs,) nor were they ready to guarantee him a roster spot in the NHL next season. McGroarty could sign and come to training camp but risked being demoted to the AHL instead of trying to lead his Michigan team to a national championship.”
McGroarty apparently believes he has found that role in Pittsburgh, where he signed a three-year entry-level deal shortly after the trade for Yager.
“I feel like everything’s right here, the development path, the veteran guys that they have here, the organization that they have here and the town here as well,” McGroarty said about Pittsburgh, per Crosby.
The Penguins have a crowded bottom six and plenty of forwards who will be competing for a spot in training camp, especially down the right side of the roster. But given McGroarty’s potential and his willingness to sign in Pittsburgh, it sounds like the Penguins are planning to at least give him a shot at the NHL next season.
