Penguins forwards Noel Acciari, Rutger McGroarty enter training camp with injuries

Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Noel Acciari and Rutger McGroarty are among five players who are sidelined due to injuries as the team opens training camp.

President of hockey operations Kyle Dubas provided an update on the quintet in Cranberry on Thursday.

Acciari, 33, is dealing with a core muscle injury.

“He was shut down a couple of weeks ago by the performance staff,” Dubas said. “The goal is to try to get him back up and running in time to hopefully get him in action very late in the exhibition season. You won’t see him out there in the short run.”

The right-handed Acciari appeared in 79 games last season and scored 12 points (five goals, seven assists) while averaging 13:46 of ice time per contest. A hip flexor muscle sidelined him for the final three games of the campaign.

McGroarty, 21, is hobbled by an undisclosed injury.

“It’s going to be a little bit more of an indefinite timeline,” Dubas said. “It’s something because of the player, his age and the potential that he has, we just have to be very patient with Rutger on that.”

One of the organization’s top prospects, McGroarty is still a rookie entering this upcoming season by NHL parameters. Making his NHL debut last season, the left-handed McGroarty appeared in eight games and scored three points (one goal, two assists) while clocking an average of 14:37 of ice time per contest. He suffered a suspected left foot injury that sidelined him for the final three games of 2024-25.

A trio of prospects are also ailing.

Forward Bill Zonnon, a first-round draft pick (No. 22 overall) in June, will be sidelined for four weeks due to an undisclosed injury he suffered while playing a preseason game for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Defenseman Peyton Kettles, a second-round selection (No. 39 overall) in June, is hobbled by an undisclosed ailment he suffered while playing a preseason contest with the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos. Dubas offered a recovery timeframe of “a week to two weeks.”

Forward Tanner Howe, a second-round draft pick (No. 46 overall) in 2024, is continuing to rehabilitate a right ACL injury he suffered while skating for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen in April. The 19-year-old is eligible to continue playing in either the junior ranks or the professional level with one of the team’s minor league affiliates. His recovery will dictate which team he is assigned to, according to Dubas.