Looks Like Sink-Or-Swim for Penguins’ McGroarty, Koivunen

CRANBERRY — Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen have been viewed as big parts of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future since they were acquired in separate trades last year.

Turns out they apparently will be significant pieces of the team’s present, too.

Both were recalled from the Penguins’ farm team in Wilkes-Barre Friday and were plugged into prominent roles during practice Saturday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

McGroarty played left wing on the No. 1 line, alongside Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, and worked on the No. 2 power play. Koivunen was on the second line, with Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar, as well as the top power play.

While there’s no guarantee either will be deployed in those roles when the Penguins face Winnipeg Sunday at 5:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, coach Mike Sullivan made it clear he isn’t planning to ease McGroarty and Koivunen into the game at this level.

“There are pros and cons to putting them anywhere in the lineup,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes, but my intention is, when you have players of this caliber, we’re trying to set them up for success. We’re also trying to put them in roles where they have an opportunity to play to their strengths.

“Both of these guys have high hockey IQs. They’re both real competitive guys. They both have an offensive dimension to their game. … We think that, with the combinations we had out there today, potentially, they would be complementary on the lines that they’re on.”

Assuming they are in the lineup against the Senators — which seems certain, given that the Penguins have only 12 healthy forwards on their major-league roster — it will be Koivunen’s NHL debut, and McGroarty’s fourth game in the league.

If nothing else, that should help to make turning 21 Sunday particularly memorable for McGroarty.

“It’s a good birthday present,” he said.

While injuries to forwards Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak, along with Boko Imama’s season-ending bicep surgery, created the roster openings that McGroarty and Koivunen have filled, Sullivan suggested that wasn’t the only reason for the promotions.

“This was something that Kyle (Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations and GM) and I have talked about for a little bit,” he said. “These guys have played extremely well for Wilkes(-Barre). These two guys are a big reason why Wilkes is having the success that it’s enjoyed. They’ve been pretty impactful.”

Going into the Baby Penguins’ game in Charlotte Saturday, Koivunen was the team’s leading scorer, with 21 goals and 34 assists in 62 games. McGroarty rebounded from a slow start to put up 14 goals and 25 assists in 60 games, tying him for fourth place in the club’s points race.

“You can tell that they’re both really, really good players,” Rust said. “So I’m excited to see what they can do.”

McGroarty, who is in his first season of pro hockey, was in the Penguins’ lineup for the first three games of 2024-25, but it would be charitable to describe his impact as “modest.” He logged a total of 34 minutes, 51 seconds of ice time, and recorded four hits, two shots on goal, one takeaway and a plus-minus rating of minus-1.

Not surprisingly, he said his game has benefitted from the time he’s spent in the American Hockey League, with a particular upgrade to his skating.

“Overall, my game hasn’t necessarily changed — I’m still the same player — but I’ve just matured a lot,” McGroarty said. “I feel like that’s the main thing, my confidence with the puck. Overall, my skating has improved so much. … I’ve become a lot stronger, and just my overall, 200-foot game, I feel like it’s grown a lot.”

What neither he nor Koivunen has done is to play with a linemate of Crosby’s caliber. It has not been unusual for players thrust into that role to catch themselves watching him while play is in progress — or forcing the puck to Crosby, when that isn’t the most prudent move — and McGroarty seems to be aware of that possibility.

“It’s really cool, getting to play with him,” McGroarty said. “Hopefully, if that opportunity comes, I’ll put my best forward and do what I can do.”

The Penguins certainly hope so, because a big piece of their future suddenly is now.