(Exclusive) Penguins Upgrade Player Development at WBS; McGroarty Hits the Gym

The Pittsburgh Penguins will soon be leaning heavily on their feeder system from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, or at least they would like to. To that end, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas and assistant GM Jason Spezza began an ambitious program to revamp the practices and procedures for their farmhands with NHL dreams.

If you ever visit a WBS practice, you’re not likely to see much game work or anything resembling Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan’s fast-paced drills.

No, the WBS Penguins often practice for 60 or 90 minutes, but the players only practice in shifts, mainly working on individual skills that the team of coaches both in WBS and the organization has determined most necessary.

For others, it’s about the work off the ice to prepare for pro hockey at that level and the next level. It’s paying dividends.

“At this point, it’s been awesome. (The organization) has guys come in here every week; skills coaches, skating coaches, tech,” Tristan Broz told us during our scouting trip on Dec. 5. “So there’s pretty much someone in here every week, and they’re working on different stuff with you. They’ve been awesome–Like, tell me, give me feedback.”

That attitude is why Broz will be in the NHL sooner rather than later, but it’s not exclusive to him. As the Penguins are more involved in the players’ development, it was an easy observation that so, too, were the players. That hasn’t always been the case in WBS, as some of our past trips encountered workmanlike vibes without a great deal of enthusiasm.

The WBS Penguins are 16-8-1 and will have a quick turnaround from their near brawl with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (the Flyers AHL team) last Saturday and face them again Friday.

Last season, Dubas and Spezza largely observed the development process and systems. Dubas packed the roster with more veterans than coach J.D. Forrest could dress because the Penguins organization didn’t yet have enough prospects worthy of filling the roster.

That, too, is changing. Dubas cut his teeth as the GM of the Toronto Marlies and guided them to the Calder Cup despite the lack of top-tier prospects provided by the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Penguins management team isn’t trying to win games at the expense of any prospects—their approach is quite the opposite.

The changes started in the long process of finding a new AHL coach. Eventually, Spezza selected Kirk MacDonald because they found a coach who fit their philosophy.

“(We) talked to players and talked to the veteran guys to get what they’ve had in the past. But I think a lot of (the change) was when I hired Kirk this summer,” Spezza said. “So, that was a long process in terms of just making sure we had the right approach, and he has an understanding of the role of an AHL coach. You want to win games, and you have to develop. And I think the way you develop players is by winning games, but it can’t be by just using the veteran players.”

Indeed, the kids are the featured attraction. Broz, the Penguins’ 2021 second-round pick in his first professional season, is the top-line center. McGroarty is often on his wing.

“We’ve seen Tristan has done a great job of really embracing–if you’re going to play center, play at 200ft. I think that’s been great to see his progress and his understanding when the coaches point that out to him,” Spezza said. “So (Broz) has been really good. Rutger has done a really good job just acclimating to pro hockey … he started up here, but the game is a little different (in the AHL). He’s been asked for a heavier lift in the American League than most. So he’s been great, and his commitment in the gym has been really admirable.”

McGroarty had just one point in his first eight AHL games but has nine (2-7-9) in his last 15. Broz has 17 points (10-7-17) in 25 games this season.

Despite a career mostly spent in the NHL, Spezza, who was the second overall pick in 2001, also had some experience in the AHL—he played his first 43 games in the A (2002-03) and the entirety of the 2004-05 NHL lockout in the AHL.

The Penguins have a few players hoping to make the leap Spezza made and never look back.

In addition to McGroarty and Broz, Villie Koivunen and Vasily Ponomarev also have a short path to the NHL. Ponomarev has already played three NHL games this season, and McGroarty played three games with the big club after breaking camp with the team.

The organization really likes Koivunen and his adjustment from the larger ice surfaces in Finald. Koivunen has popped for 21 points in 25 games, good for second place behind Emil Bemstrom (25).

In fact, when PHN spoke to Spezza in Nashville about the growth and development in WBS, his enthusiasm was hard to miss. It’s his first GM assignment, but the team is winning games with young players in the stacked Atlantic Division, which also features perennial powers Hershey, Charlotte, and Providence.

The WBS Penguins are in third place, 16-8-1. More importantly, the players are improving, and that’s what Spezza and Dubas set out to do.