Penguins rookie forward Jonathan Gruden is trying to 'just keep playing'

When Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Jonathan Gruden made his NHL debut Monday in a 4-3 overtime home win against the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena, much of his family was present to watch a considerable moment in the 22-year-old’s life.

With one notable exception.

His father.

He got stuck at work.

About 10 hours to the northeast.

At TD Garden in Boston.

On the home bench.

John Gruden is an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins, and earlier that afternoon he helped his team dispatch the woebegone Philadelphia Flyers, 6-0.

But even with the chasm of more than 500 miles, John Gruden’s presence was not absent.

It has always been there.

“He was my first coach, my role model my whole life,” Jonathan Gruden said Tuesday at the team’s practice facility in Cranberry. “He’s taught me everything about the game.”

John Gruden has quite a bit to offer about the game. After all, he spent parts of six seasons in the NHL as a defenseman with the Bruins, Senators and Washington Capitals throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. And he has been an assistant coach in the NHL for the past five seasons. Before joining the Bruins this past offseason, he was an assistant with the New York Islanders the previous four campaigns.

His advice to Jonathan Gruden before his first game Monday was pretty simple.

“Just have fun,” Jonathan Gruden said. “That’s all he said. Let ’er rip.”

Through Thursday, Gruden is on a two-game tear into his NHL career. In addition to Monday’s victory, he was in the lineup for Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime road loss to the Ottawa Senators, the team that selected him in the fourth round (No. 95 overall) of the 2018 draft.

While he signed a three-year entry-level contract with Senators in April of 2019, he never played for that organization at any level. In October of 2020, he was sent to the Penguins along with a second-round pick in that year’s draft — which was staged in October because of the pandemic — in exchange for would-be franchise goaltender Matt Murray.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Gruden, a native of Rochester, Mich. “I was actually skating when Ottawa was trying to contact me about the trade. I finally saw my phone, gave them a call and they told me. Then they released it (announced the trade) right away. It was pretty hectic since I had still not played my first pro game yet. I was still with London (of the Ontario Hockey League). Getting traded for a goalie that had won two (Stanley Cup titles) here, it was pretty cool. I was obviously pretty excited to be part of this organization.”

Gruden made his professional debut with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, which did not begin until February of 2021. In the nearly three years since, Gruden has made a steady progression as a professional.

“I think every year, I’ve gotten better,” Gruden said. “The first year (2020-21) was a little bit of a short year, so I wanted to figure out the ins and outs of the (AHL). My first full year (2021-22) of pro, I kind of figured out what it was. And this year, I put that all in, worked my butt off.”

That derriere-toning labor culminated in 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 32 AHL games this season — including seven points (five goals, two assists) in his seven most recent contests.

That surge prompted Penguins management to recall Gruden to the NHL roster Sunday and insert him into the lineup for the past two contests.

It would be charitable to say Gruden has made a significant impact at the NHL level so far. Primarily deployed as a fourth-line center, he has no points, no shots and has averaged a mere 5 minutes, 11 seconds of ice time. Factors out of his control such as an incumbent member of the roster recovering from an injury could lead to him returning to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the near future.

Gruden realizes getting to the NHL is one thing. Staying there is another.

“I got my first (games) out of the way,” said Gruden, who is in the final year of his entry-level contract. “Right now, the goal is to stick around long and play as many games as I can. Just do my job and see what happens.”

Such is the sage advice Gruden has been given from a father who has been down this path.

“(He) just congratulated me and told me how special it was,” Jonathan Gruden said. “Just keep playing, have fun and see where it takes me.”

Note: The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Thursday.