Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas provided a key update on one of the team's top prospects Wednesday.
21-year-old forward Rutger McGroarty - who missed all of training camp and is still recovering from an undisclosed injury - has been skating prior to team practices and took to the injured ice again Wednesday along with forwards Kevin Hayes and Bill Zonnon as well as goaltender Joel Blomqvist. Going into Wednesday, there was no timetable for McGroarty's return to action.
In an appearance on the GM Show with Josh Getzoff, Kyle Dubas clarified McGroarty's status, saying the he expects the forward back within the next month - and he also specified where McGroarty will begin his season.
"Rutger, at his age, we want to make sure that we're doing everything [to ensure] that this doesn't sort of multiply into a greater issue," Dubas told Getzoff. "So, he's here skating. I would say inside of the next month, he'll return, and that will come in [Wilkes-Barre/Scranton].
"He missed training camp and all of the pre-season, so we'll get him back fully up and running. And when he's able to return to full practice and cleared, then we'll have him go to Wilkes and just continue on the progress that he made last year."
McGroarty was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for prospect Brayden Yager in the summer of 2024, and he made Pittsburgh's NHL squad out of training camp last season. He played three games at the NHL level before being optioned back to the AHL with WBS, where he recorded 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games.
He came up for a five-game NHL stint at the end of the 2024-25 season, and he put up a goal and three points before an unrelated injury ended his season prematurely.
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