McGroarty Shines; Lament & Opportunity on Prospects Row (+)

CRANBERRY, Twp — Rutger McGroarty does not yet have a locker stall in the main room at the Pittsburgh Penguins practice facility. Instead, the heralded 14th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, whom the Penguins acquired for their own top prospect, sits in a room with concrete block walls and cutout wooden dividers generally used by youth teams and beer league players.

The Penguins traded 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager, who was also drafted 14th overall, for McGroarty. The impact is noticeable on the ice and in the locker room. McGroarty’s big personality led him to the 2024 Team USA captaincy for the World Junior Championship, and there is a lively crew grouped in the cramped side locker room.

In fact, the row of players along one wall in the auxiliary dressing room could very soon become an entire stretch of stalls in the Penguins’ main room. It was the Murderer’s Row of Penguins prospects.