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F Rutger McGroarty - WBS Penguins, AHL (2022, 14th, WPG; traded to PIT)

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43sfriends said:


I wonder if this is what Rutger envisioned when he elected to join the Penguins organization?
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Did Buchinger break his hand on Rutger’s helmet? Finding out that it was that Kids’’s first fight in the American hockey league cancels out my first thought which was the referee in Slap Shot saying “too much too soon.“
 
Chainshot said:
Did Buchinger break his hand on Rutger’s helmet? Finding out that it was that Kids’’s first fight in the American hockey league cancels out my first thought which was the referee in Slap Shot saying “too much too soon.“
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Even for a first fight, that's a terrible effort. If you aren't going to fight, don't drop the gloves.
 
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Jacob said:
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Teammates have a lot of respect for a guy who isn’t a fighter going toe to toe with a guy who is. Standing up on a fight like that builds a confidence in the player too. I can see this turning on a light for him. He just might take off as a player from this point. No fear.
 
Junohockeyfan said:
Even for a first fight, that's a terrible effort. If you aren't going to fight, don't drop the gloves.
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I would agree. Buchinger isn't a fighter. His OHL PIM is like in the 37-60 range. A couple of seasons with an odd number, which would have to mean a major penalty for something, possibly a fight.

Not a lot of fighting these days, but if you're going to play a physical game, you're likely to end up delivering a borderline hit on someone or a clean hit on a star player which will draw a reaction.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I'm sure he would've done so if the guy who beat him was drafted by the Coyotes, right?

And I'm sure Winnipeg fans would be so interested in tearing him down if he was drafted by the Stars, right?

Almost like people are trying to protect their self interest in what they've said against him.
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What in the f*** are you on about? You've gone loony tunes.
 
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Memento said:
For someone who does a lot of mock drafts and claims to be in the know about prospects, you know shockingly little about Michael Buchinger. This is literally his first year in the AHL, and he's a top six defenseman on one of the better teams in the AHL. I think he'll make it somewhere in the NHL, even if it isn't with us; offensive defensemen with his potential aren't exactly common.

Nobody's saying he's McGroarty's caliber, but he clearly won that fight, and is a lot better than you implied.
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Has 9 points in 41 games. Sounds like a lot of offensive potential.

Here's one random review I picked out of him from Scott Wheeler. Ranked him as only the 13th best Blues prospect. He's a replacement level prospect. He's not some junior goon, but he's also not likely to stick in the NHL, if he reaches it at all.

www.nytimes.com

St. Louis Blues are No. 14 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Blues have one of the deeper pools in the NHL with five legit prospects at the top and good quantity behind them.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

He surprised scouts with his vision inside the offensive zone and overall defensive polish as a rookie in his draft year (due to the pandemic) to emerge as a third-round pick, and he played to about a point per game in the two seasons after that, but I’m not sure about an NHL projection. He’s the kind of player who feels like he’ll be solid AHL depth at minimum and maybe he works his way into the call-up conversation in his mid-20s.
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That pretty much sounds like what I suggested. NHL isn't that likely.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Has 9 points in 41 games. Sounds like a lot of offensive potential.

Here's one random review I picked out of him from Scott Wheeler. Ranked him as only the 13th best Blues prospect. He's a replacement level prospect. He's not some junior goon, but he's also not likely to stick in the NHL, if he reaches it at all.

www.nytimes.com

St. Louis Blues are No. 14 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

The Blues have one of the deeper pools in the NHL with five legit prospects at the top and good quantity behind them.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com


That pretty much sounds like what I suggested. NHL isn't that likely.
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First year in the AHL as a twenty-year-old, and defensemen mature later than forwards, for the most part. He tore up the OHL; it's only his defense that was questionable.

I'm not saying he'll make it, but saying he'll be "playing in Sochi in five years" is wrong as well.
 
Memento said:
First year in the AHL as a twenty-year-old, and defensemen mature later than forwards, for the most part. He tore up the OHL; it's only his defense that was questionable.

I'm not saying he'll make it, but saying he'll be "playing in Sochi in five years" is wrong as well.
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So you're not saying he makes it, but saying he'll be playing in the KHL is wrong as hell? That doesn't seem to compute, unless you know he has no interest in playing for Russia. Average/good AHL'ers often go play in Russia.

Just admit my comment wasn't far off. There's a chance he could stick in the NHL. There's a likelier chance he doesn't. Claiming foul off a very fair prediction for an average prospect is crying over spilled milk.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
So you're not saying he makes it, but saying he'll be playing in the KHL is wrong as hell? That doesn't seem to compute, unless you know he has no interest in playing for Russia. Average/good AHL'ers often go play in Russia.

Just admit my comment wasn't far off. There's a chance he could stick in the NHL. There's a likelier chance he doesn't. Claiming foul off a very fair prediction for an average prospect is crying over spilled milk.
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I'm saying that you may not have paid attention to the fact that he is literally a twenty-year-old rookie playing in a men's league in the AHL, and that he has room to grow, particularly since he's a defenseman who still needs time to mature - and given that he's a third-round defenseman in his D+3 year, I'd say there's plenty of opportunities for him to grow. And as you should know - since you claim to be an expert on prospects - prospect and player development is far from linear.

But anyway, I've said enough. This is the McGroarty thread. I was just pushing back on the whole "Buchinger is an AHL plug" narrative.
 
Junohockeyfan said:
Even for a first fight, that's a terrible effort. If you aren't going to fight, don't drop the gloves.
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It’s not about how the fight goes, it’s about being in a situation you’ve never been in, knowing you might get your eyes welded shut, and having the willingness to do it. The kid stood in and took a beating sure, but he showed himself and his teammates he was willing to do that and that he could take a beating, dust himself off, and move on.

I could care less how a fight goes…sure when you get pumped you’re gonna hear about it and get some laughs which is part of the game. But at the end of the day, everyone who’s been in a locker room knows it takes a pair of balls to square up out there, and that’s what earns respect. The result is meaningless in that regard
 
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2014nyr said:
It’s not about how the fight goes, it’s about being in a situation you’ve never been in, knowing you might get your eyes welded shut, and having the willingness to do it. The kid stood in and took a beating sure, but he showed himself and his teammates he was willing to do that and that he could take a beating, dust himself off, and move on.

I could care less how a fight goes…sure when you get pumped you’re gonna hear about it and get some laughs which is part of the game. But at the end of the day, everyone who’s been in a locker room knows it takes a pair of balls to square up out there, and that’s what earns respect. The result is meaningless in that regard
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I didn't watch the whole thing because I didn't want to see him get beat that bad, but I agree.

Sounds like he might have done something to want the other team to fight, and he stood in there and answered the bell. I like that in a player.
 
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2014nyr said:
It’s not about how the fight goes, it’s about being in a situation you’ve never been in, knowing you might get your eyes welded shut, and having the willingness to do it. The kid stood in and took a beating sure, but he showed himself and his teammates he was willing to do that and that he could take a beating, dust himself off, and move on.

I could care less how a fight goes…sure when you get pumped you’re gonna hear about it and get some laughs which is part of the game. But at the end of the day, everyone who’s been in a locker room knows it takes a pair of balls to square up out there, and that’s what earns respect. The result is meaningless in that regard
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Sure. But even Alex Semin got a few slaps in on Staal.

That's horsespit. If he didn't want to go he didn't have to. He took a fighting stance which signaled he was game. It's not like he was chased and sucker punched. You don't want to go, then don't drop your gloves and get set for engagement. You disgrace yourself and your team doing what he did. I totally agree that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, just that you stand in and handle your business. Happens all the time in hockey when a non-goon runs another player or injures someone. He answers the bell to the best of his ability and everyone moves on. To do that and turtle? Might as well change his nameplate to "Bitch".
 
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