Rutger McGroarty makes Penguins opening roster

Pens GM Kyle Dubas spoke at length about McGroarty and the opportunity he has in front of him on Monday.

Penguins rookie winger Rutger McGroarty has made the Penguins opening roster ahead the team’s first game tomorrow night against the New York Rangers.

McGroarty was acquired via trade earlier this offseason in a swap with the Winnipeg Jets where the Pens dealt away highly-touted prospect Brayden Yager.

In the immediate wake of the trade, the talk around the hockey world was that McGroarty was a little more NHL-ready.

McGroarty established himself as one of the most productive forwards in college hockey last season but was given no promises in Pittsburgh in regard to making the team heading into the season.

We now know that the 20-year-old winger has made the team’s opening night roster.

Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas spoke at length about McGroarty on Monday with seemingly nothing but good things to say about his preparation in training camp.

“There was nothing guaranteed to him whatsoever,” Dubas said. ‘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.”

Dubas went on to say that McGroarty is smart and competitive, two things that made him want to bring him to Pittsburgh via trade.

“In the best case scenarios, they just never look back and keep getting better,” Dubas said of young players. “We know he’s going to put the work in and that would be the expectation.”

During practice on Monday at the Penguins’ practice facility in Cranberry Township, McGroarty was skating on a third line alongside Lars Eller and a rotation of Jesse Puljujarvi and Valtteri Puustinen.

It’s unclear if McGroarty will get his first NHL start tomorrow night when the Penguins host the New York Rangers.

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night at PPG Paints Arena.