Photo credit (right): Upper Deck, NHLPA Rookie Showcase

“Meant to be ”

That’s how Rutger McGroarty’s mom Cindy captioned a photo of her son wearing Penguins gear at PPG Paints Arena when he was just 10 years old.

Reflecting on that day, the Nebraska native says his time in Pittsburgh was the catalyst for his career. Earlier that summer, he had gone to the legendary Brick Invitational tournament in Edmonton, and caught the attention of the Detroit Honeybaked Hockey Club. It’s a AAA organization that Bryan Rust also played for.

“My tryout tournament for Honeybaked was at PPG, and after, they’re like, yeah, we want you to be on the team. Then I moved up to Michigan,” McGroarty said. “So, that’s where everything started for me.”

McGroarty, who’s in the far left of the above photo, said one of his buddies grabbed a Sidney Crosby shirt, while another got Kris Letang’s. That made going with Evgeni Malkin an easy choice for Rutger, especially since “I was a big Geno fan,” he said. “I loved his energy on the ice, and his shot is really a bomb.”

Now, the thought of potentially playing alongside the likes of the Big Three for a team with such a storied history and high expectations is a thrilling one for the 20-year-old forward, acquired from Winnipeg in August in exchange for Brayden Yager.

“I love it. I love winning. I love being a part of an atmosphere like that,” McGroarty said with a huge grin. “I feel like I’ve played on a lot of winning teams in my career, obviously not to this extent in the NHL with guys like that, but I love being a part of that atmosphere. I love coming in, I love the grind every single day, I love winning. So, that makes me really excited, and hopefully, I could be a part of that.”

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Rutger was born on March 30, 2004, joining his older sister Molly. His name honors his paternal grandfather, Roger, with Cindy coming across the Scandinavian version of ‘Rutger’ in a book. “It’s a great name. I love my grandpa. I’m so honored to be named after him,” Rutger said before admitting with a smile, “though at first, I kind of hated it when I was younger because I was like, no one else has my name and whatever. But the older I get, I’m like yeah, this is awesome.”

Though Rutger has used an alias at restaurants, coffee shops and the like following some inspiration from his friend Jack Beck, a forward who signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this summer after finishing his junior career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

“He came down for a summer during COVID to train at my gym, so him and I got kind of tight,” Rutger said. “He said his full name one time at a restaurant, which are the two easiest names, Jack Beck. I’m like, holy s**t, that’s awesome. So, the rest of the time I’m just like yeah, I’m Jack [laughs].”

He’s also gone by Rut, Fridge – “because I eat a lot” – and, uniquely enough, ‘BrocFlau.’ That was his main moniker last season at Michigan. “It’s a mix of broccoli and cauliflower and, like, don’t even ask me how that came about, but I got called BrocFlau for probably the last year,” McGroarty laughed.

Just a few days after the McGroarty family welcomed Rutger, he was at the rink for his first hockey game, as father Jim was head coach of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars.

“I was just born into it,” Rutger said. “It’s been hockey ever since. There was no other choice. I also played flag football, baseball, lacrosse, I swam a little… I played so many different sports, but (number one) has always been hockey.”

Rutger spent his childhood in Lincoln, while Jim served as Stars head coach and later GM for several years. He had a set of keys to their home rink called the Ice Box, which “used to be a barn. Like an actual barn,” Rutger said with a laugh.

He would go there and skate for 2-3 hours a day, and when the team was in town, Rutger would be around the group – essentially growing up in a USHL locker room. Because of that, “I’ve always been a little bit more mature,” Rutger said – which has helped his ability and confidence as a leader. He was a big fan of the team, partly because of his dad’s involvement, and partly because there weren’t any NHL clubs nearby. Though he did like Toronto, since Jim is from Ontario.

When Rutger got the opportunity with Honeybaked after coming up through the Lincoln youth hockey ranks, Jim moved with him to the Detroit suburb of Northville. A former professional hockey player himself with stops in the ECHL and overseas, Jim’s best advice to his son was always to find the hardest worker in the room, and then try to outwork them.

“He’s been awesome,” Rutger said. “Just to see how hard he works to provide for my family, he’s just a very hardworking man, and he’s always working on himself. I mean, he’s 52 now, and he’s always still trying to get better. He works in the game still (as general manager of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks), and he’s always just trying to learn different things. So, if he’s 52 still learning, I feel like at 20 years old, I can still learn everything I can. He’s been a huge role model for me, for sure.”

Rutger chose to play his junior hockey with the U.S. National Team Development Program and originally thought he’d attend Notre Dame for college. But when Brandon Naurato joined Michigan’s coaching staff as an assistant, McGroarty had a change of heart. They had been working together since Rutger had enrolled in Naurato’s Total Package Hockey Academy at age 11.

“So, once I saw that and I saw how much everybody loved the school, the amount of NHLers that they produce, and the campus, it’s tough to beat, for sure,” McGroarty said.

Rutger’s appreciation for the university has grown a lot during his last two years in Ann Arbor. It’s helped him gain perspective after being in somewhat of a hockey bubble from sixth grade through high school.

“My first day, I met an art major that was on a full-ride scholarship, and he’s showing me his art. Then I’m talking to a music major, and then guys in the football team, and just different people in the business school,” McGroarty said. “It’s been awesome just getting to see that there’s a life outside of hockey. They just produce so many high-end people at Michigan, and there’s so many different talents there.”

Now, as he prepares for a move to Pennsylvania, Rutger has cherished being back home in Nebraska. “I realized my time at home is kind of slowing down, going back to Michigan, coming here,” he said. “I love my family, my family’s super tight. My sister’s my best friend. So, I just love hanging out with my family, honestly. That’s probably what I do most, hang out with them.”

He’s proud to be from a nontraditional hockey market, with Rutger and Molly having discussed getting tattoos that say ‘402’ for their Nebraska area code. “It’s where I came from. My grandpa still lives there; I have a bunch of family who live there. I’m going back there for a wedding soon. So yeah, I love that place, and I’ll always hold it close to my heart,” he said.

But Rutger is excited for his new start in the 412, having already texted a bit with Crosby, who said he’s excited for McGroarty.

“I was fired up (when I heard about the trade),” he said. “It’s a great city with a great organization, a lot of veteran players. So, yeah, it’s awesome.”