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This article was published 07/07/2022 (337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — Rutger McGroarty was just three days old when he attended his first hockey game.

Fresh out of the hospital, the bouncing baby boy was no doubt the youngest guest at an Omaha Lancers playoff tilt. His father, Jim, just happened to be the head coach of the junior-league team at the time.

The Nebraska product has no memory of that contest, of course. But it was the start of a love affair with the sport, one that culminated Thursday night inside the Bell Centre when his name was called out by the Winnipeg Jets.

McGroarty, 18, was selected 14th overall by the club. He won’t forget this particular moment, one that included approximately 105 family members and friends in the arena with him.

“I’m definitely fired up. I’m excited. It’s such a great organization. I’m pumped. I’m pumped,” he said. “Everybody’s kind of made an impact on my life and kind of helped me get to this point. So, we just wanted to extend the invite and everyone ended up coming. So I’m happy to have them.”

The Jets are thrilled to have him as well. McGroarty is a big body (6-1, 200 pounds) has plenty of skill and compete. Winnipeg fans will like his answer to a Free Press question regarding who he models his game after.

“The Tkachuk brothers,” he said, with a sheepish smile. “Just their competitiveness, their energy. They are power forwards that can put the puck in the back of the net and they bring their compete every single day.”

McGroarty also has natural leadership abilities which led to him being named captain of the U.S. National Development Program U18 team last year, where he had 33 points (15G, 18A) in 25 games. He also had eight goals and an assist in six game at the U18 World Championship.

“I would say I’m a very skilled two-way power forward. I feel like I bring my competitiveness, my energy every single day. I feel like I’m a good leader. I feel like I’ve got a good goal scorer’s touch and I make my linemates around me better,” he said.

There was a belief the Jets might be looking at a centre, but a couple in their potential wheelhouse came off the board just before them as Arizona selected Strathclair’s Conor Geekie at No. 11 and Chicago picked American Frank Nazar at No. 13.

“I’m definitely fired up. I’m excited. It’s such a great organization. I’m pumped. I’m pumped.”
– Winnipeg Jets draft pick Rutger McGroarty

There was plenty of intrigue and drama at the draft, including consensus No. 1 Shane Wright tumbling all the way to No. 4, along with several trades involving the likes of Chicago’s Alex Debrincat and Kirby Dach. Winnipeg, with rumours swirling about several players including captain Blake Wheeler, centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and defenceman Brenden Dillon, was quiet on that front.

For now, anyway.

The No. 14 pick was their first of seven scheduled picks during the draft, which concludes Friday with rounds two through seven.

‘”It’s unbelievable. Being here, it’s a dream as a kid. Like just being at an NHL draft, coming to any draft you love hearing, ‘We have a trade to announce.’ It’s just a real exciting time and I’m happy to be here,” said McGroarty.

“Just to see the crowd all there, all the family and friends that I had, it’s unbelievable. I’m so fired up.”

If there’s a knock against McGroarty, it would be his skating. That’s something he’s really focusing on, including working with former world champion Canadian figure skater Barb Underhill.

“She sees a lot of potential in my skating. We love each other and have a great relationship so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I’m kind of soaking everything in like a sponge. The No.1 thing would just be don’t be so tense. When I get tense I feel like I don’t have good core strength, my stride gets choppy. Everything just kind of goes downhill from there. Relax my shoulders, just be relaxed out there and have fun.”

“Just to see the crowd all there, all the family and friends that I had, it’s unbelievable. I’m so fired up.”
– Rutger McGroarty

Nebraska isn’t exactly a hockey hotbed, something McGroarty takes pride in. His father, who was born in Toronto, helped steer him toward the game (he’s now the general manager of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL). And then natural ability, drive and determination took over.

“I would say the main place it came from was being in a USHL locker room from five to nine years old. I feel I matured a lot quicker than most younger kids,” said McGroarty. “Also just being that kid from Nebraska, I feel like I’m equal with everybody. I come to work every single day. I feel like those are the main things.

He’s the first player from his state drafted into the NHL since Jake Guentzel in 2013.

“I just like to show that, ‘Hey, I’m a kid from Nebraska — a non-traditional hockey market — and hopefully someone sees me talking right now and says, ‘I’m from Nebraska and I want to play some hockey.’ I wouldn’t say anomaly, I would just say I want to inspire other kids from those non-traditional hockey markets and it’s really cool,” he said.

McGroarty came to Montreal with no expectations about where he might land, although he thought Winnipeg could be an option given the positive interviews he’d done with them and their spot in the draft.

“For me, I knew I had a good year and I don’t have any regrets. I knew that I definitely solidified myself as a first-rounder. Where I went, I guess we just figured it out,” he said.

McGroarty is committed to play this fall at the University of Michigan, which has one of the top college hockey programs in the country. He’ll follow in the footsteps of previous Jets draft picks Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba.

“I’m kind of soaking everything in like a sponge. The No.1 thing would just be don’t be so tense.”
– Rutger McGroarty

“It’s a great spot. I’m really excited. It’s a first-class school. The coaching staff, the class we have coming in, we’re going to have a really competitive bunch and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg