Penguins’ Bryan Rust settles into routine of working out, board games, street hockey
Hockey players are famously routine-oriented. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise Bryan Rust has been drawn to a daily schedule even during these uncertain times of stay-at-home orders.
“I get up, usually have a little bit of a slow morning and usually have a coffee, hang out a little bit, and then usually get a workout in of some fashion,” the Pittsburgh Penguins forward said Tuesday, carefully recalling what most of the past three weeks have been like at his suburban Pittsburgh home. “Then, depending on the weather, we might go outside and play a little street hockey — we have tried to get into that a little lately, trying to bring us back to when we were kids — and then usually later on in the day we try to find something to eat for dinner and then a whole ton of board games and card games and such.”
Rust’s routine is not unlike what other NHL players and professional athletes have outlined since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the sports world last month. It also sounds similar to what those who aren’t getting paid to play a game have resorted to with family and other household mates, either.
Rust and his wife, Kelsey — they were married last summer — took on two others in their home: Rust’s brother-in-law and Rust’s Penguins teammate, Zach Aston-Reese. The former turned the group on to the “Settlers of Catan” board game.
“My brother-in-law has been a huge advocate ever since I’d known him for this game,” Rust said. “I always was skeptical but just decided we were looking for something to do one night, so we tried it. Reeser got hooked first, and my wife and I were dragged in, and now we play multiple games very night.”
But before Penguins fans eager for the season to resume get worried the team’s leader in goals — Rust has 27 — is wasting away, Rust assured his home has the necessary workout equipment.
“On staying in shape, we have a good setup here,” Rust said. “We have some dumbbells, some stability balls, some bands, cardio machines. So we’re able to do some stuff.”
Being physically ready will be challenging for players if and when play resumes. Getting through the hiatus mentally, though, might be even more difficult.
With three adult roommates — including a teammate — and three dogs, Rust acknowledged he is better positioned than some to deal with these peculiar times.
“Just trying to stay busy,” he said, “whether it’s a hobby or anything that can kind of keep your mind going instead of just worrying about the what-ifs and things like that, I think that can help.
“It’s, obviously, really tough,” Rust said moments earlier. “We’re trying to make the most of it, but, obviously, not being able to get on the ice or do much skating or even some sort of skill work and things like that, it makes you a little bit rusty. I think some guys in the summer (never) go a month or more without skating, so it definitely poses a bit of a challenge there.”
“My wife has been good with it – a house full of boys,” Bryan Rust said Tuesday. “But she has been awesome.”https://t.co/ebTGjfBixs
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 7, 2020
It is clear the teammate Rust is keeping closest tabs on is Aston-Reese, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t in regular contact with the other two dozen or so Penguins. Rust said a players’ group chat keeps everyone engaged and in good spirits.
But when will they reconvene in real life? Will they get a chance to experience the playoff run they had been looking forward to?
“It’s just been a season of adversity, with all the injuries and other things …” Rust said. “Depending where this goes, if we get back into the season, it’s kind of another hurdle that we’re going to try to overcome.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.