Penguins forward prospect Jonathan Gruden wants to make a name for himself
First off, it’s “Jonathan.”
Jonathan Gruden, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new forward prospect doesn’t want to be confused with that other Gruden.
No, not the bloviating NFL coach.
His father.
John Gruden carved out a six-year NHL career that lasted 92 games as a journeyman defenseman with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals in the 1990s and 2000s.
After his playing days, he took up the coaching profession and has been an assistant with the New York Islanders the past two seasons.
Last week, his son landed with the Penguins as part of the trade that sent two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Matt Murray to the Senators.
Jonathan Gruden would like to make a name for himself, but don’t think for a second he’s ungrateful to the man who gave him his name. And so much more.
“I lean on him,” Gruden said in a video conference with Pittsburgh media. “He’s been my role model my whole life. He’s played in the NHL, and now he coaches there. He knows the ins and outs of the league and what it takes to get to the NHL.
“I just kind of like to pick his brain about things that happen in the NHL.”
A native of Rochester, Mich., a suburb to the North of Detroit, Gruden was a fourth-round selection (No. 95 overall) of the Senators in 2018. After spending the 2018-19 season with Miami (Ohio) at the NCAA level, Gruden opted to sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators in April of 2019 then joined the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) London Knights, who had selected him in a 2016 priority draft.
NHL rosters are dotted with former Knights, and that history of development led Gruden to take the junior route instead of college.
“Ultimately, I wanted to play in the NHL as fast as I could,” said Gruden, 20. “And no better place to play than London. Obviously, you can name off the (NHLers) that have played there. I wanted to play there, and I’m glad that I went there.”
The Knights probably are satisfied with the decision as well.
By the time the OHL’s season was canceled in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Knights were in first place of the Western Conference with a 45-15-2 record. Much of that success was because of a top line of Gruden along with Liam Foudy and Connor McMichael, first-round draft picks by the Columbus Blue Jackets (2018) and Capitals (2019), respectively.
Gruden was second on the team last season in goals with 30 and had 66 points in 59 games.
“Two (players who played in the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament) last year that won gold with Canada,” Gruden said of his linemates. “You have Foudy with his speed, and then McMichael can score from anywhere if you give him time and space. I want to create time and space for them, create plays and make passes on their tape. Hopefully, they put it in the net. Two highly skilled guys, and I was lucky to play with them.”
It remains to be seen where the left-handed Gruden (6-foot, 180 pounds) will play next. He is eligible to return to London for the 2020-21 season as an overage player or begin his professional career (as well as his contract), presumably with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Each league currently is aiming to resume playing in early December.
The Penguins have not announced what his immediate future will be, but it’s clear they would like to see him in Northeast Pennsylvania as soon as possible.
“This obviously will be a good path for him, starting in Wilkes-Barre, and learning our organization, learning the way we play,” Penguins director of amateur scouting Patrik Allvin said. “He’s a hard-working player, competitive, good details to his game. Probably more suited to a bottom-six role there. But as with most of the young players, they need time to adjust to pro hockey.”
Said Gruden: “You want to develop. There’s a great development staff in Pittsburgh. I’ll work with them this fall and just kind of work my way up. Really no time frame because I think once you put a time frame on it, you kind of get too far in your own head. To get to the next level, I kind of want to work on my speed. It’s a fast game, and it’s getting faster every year. Just kind of work on my speed, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.