At the NHL Player Media Tour, Sidney Crosby mentioned that he’d texted a bit with new Penguins prospect Rutger McGroarty. The team acquired the 20-year-old forward from Winnipeg at the end of August.

“From everything I hear, he’s super excited. Just excited for him, and obviously, I think he’s really happy,” the Penguins captain said.

After a hectic couple of weeks getting situated in his new surroundings, McGroarty was thrilled to don black and gold in real game action for the first time at this weekend’s Prospects Challenge in Buffalo.

“It was awesome. It was good to just go out there and do what I love, honestly,” McGroarty said. “Like, we all love the game so much. And obviously, throwing on the Penguins jersey, it’s awesome. It was fun.”

The message from the coaching staff was, “don’t be someone that you’re not… go out there, do what you do best, and just compete.” For McGroarty, that’s being a power forward with skill and a strong hockey IQ who takes pride in his compete level. He tries to “work extremely hard and do everything with intent, and then hopefully drag other guys across the line with you and help them get better.”

Before reporting to his first NHL training camp in just a few short days, McGroarty is working to feel comfortable in that game.

“Obviously you can’t replicate a game in the summer, so I feel like this is actually huge for us going into training camp – getting our legs under us, getting our cardio back, and just feeling comfortable with the puck as well,” McGroarty said.

“I feel like puck management is the biggest thing. I feel like at the NHL level, you have to be able to manage the puck and put it in the right places. And also, just learning the systems as well. I feel like that’s big for us. Obviously, it’s new systems, new team. So I feel like that will definitely give us a head start.”

As Penguins fans prepare to see what McGroarty can bring on the ice, get to know more about Rutger as a person through this profile and his Player Essentials, listed below.

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Bedroom fan

I usually have like, three fans going at all times, including one right in my face… I need the room freezing. I forgot to bring one to Buffalo. I left it in my car, actually. So, I’ve struggled sleeping. I use it for white noise, and if I’m sleeping in a room where it’s silent, I can’t do it.

Grandma’s vanilla creme sandwich cookies

If I’m going cheat meal – which I can rarely do – but if I am, I’m going Grandma’s vanilla creme cookies. They’re unbelievable. Otherwise, I’ll snack on dried mango.

Tea

I love a green jasmine tea with honey. In the summer, there’s actually nothing better than a cold, unsweetened iced tea. I also love the strawberry banana smoothie at Beyond Juicery.

Empire of the Sun

They’re by far my favorite. They just dropped a new album. It’s very good. And honestly, at Michigan, we got big into EDM music. We’d be in the back room and someone would play a SoundCloud mix, and we’d be like, all right, yeah!… like, we love it. There’s guys on our team that actually have DJ boards. It’s nuts.

Sports movies and the Avengers

Moneyball is a great movie, I love Draft Day… I love good sports movies where it’s behind the scenes. I’m a pro athlete now, so I love seeing the behind-the-scenes of all that. Suits is also good. Then, I used to be huge into Avengers stuff. So, I love Thor, love Iron Man. Iron Man 1, 2 and 3 were my favorite movies for probably, like, five or six years. Oh, and Deadpool. I think Deadpool is a really funny, good superhero movie.

Pulling oil

I use it every night. It’s for teeth whitening, and it cleans my mouth out. Also, Old Spice deodorant. I need that.

Target sunglasses

I love just going there and getting a $5 pair.

Adidas Sambas

I also love a good, clean pair of Golden Gooses. I think it’s a clean look. (For clothing), I love Vuori and Lulu(lemon). They’re my top two. And Alo is picking up their game big-time.

Cross necklace

My mom got it for me. I just always love to wear a cross. I’m Lutheran, so I love having God with me.