Gruden's Game Growing In His Second Season With Penguins

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - It's been difficult to assess second-year players in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, given that last year's rookies played less than half of a typical AHL regular season - and against only a few teams versus playing competition from around their respective conference.

Add in the fact that the NHL's taxi squads housed several top players that would otherwise be in the AHL league-wide, and the 2021-22 season has provided a much tougher challenge in terms of competitiveness for younger players trying to find their way in pro hockey - both from the opposition and in-house with more battles for spots in the lineup.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Jonathan Gruden finished last season on the right track offensively, tallying four of his six goals in the pandemic-shortened season in his final nine games.

Fast forward to this season, and Gruden went goalless in his first 34 games - just two games shy of the 36 games he played in as a rookie in the AHL last season.

"It kind of took me a while to get on the score sheet," he said after a two-goal performance in an April 6th win over the Philadelphia Flyers' AHL affiliate. "I mean, you can't really try to frustrate it. I thought I was playing pretty good hockey even though I wasn't scoring, so you just try to stay patient."

While he - and several of his Penguins teammates - were having trouble offensively, Gruden's game was growing in several other areas of the ice - something head coach JD Forrest recognized and rewarded appropriately by giving Gruden a larger role on the penalty kill and in late-period/late-game situations in one-goal games.

"We just love how hard he plays," Forrest told InsideAHLHockey.com earlier this month. "And like, he kind of relishes the role right now. And he's been dialed in on faceoffs, too."

READ ALSO: Reilly Aiming For Consistency In Second Season With Penguins -> https://insideahlhockey.com/article/reilly-aiming-for-consistency-in-second-season-with-penguins

In that April 6 game against the Flyers' AHL affiliate, Gruden and the Penguins' penalty kill not only killed off back-to-back penalties in the middle frame of the contest, Gruden finished off a shorthanded rush with teammate Drew O'Connor to extend the team's lead to 2-0 - proving crucial as it later held up as the game-winning goal.

But, not before Gruden sealed the deal in the final 1:35 of regulation with his second goal of the night - his team-leading fourth empty net goal of the season.

"Yeah, it's nice that they have the trust in me to be out there at crucial moments in the game," Gruden said of earning the coaching staff's trust with his hard-working mentality, adding, "It gives me a lot of confidence. And yeah, lately just kind of been trying to shut down the [top] lines and late in the game just trying to shut that down to make sure we get that win. So it's been nice to get some confidence, and I have to keep it going."

Gruden's coach echoed those sentiments.

"He's just.. he's come up with some big blocks, late in games for us," Forrest said of Gruden's ability to come up big in clutch moments of a game, adding that Gruden isn't the only guy on the team capable of playing that role well but that they're confident his defensive abilities will get the job done. "And just different scenarios where he's been able to execute and to go the extra to finish out, so we feel pretty good with him on the ice in most situations."

That bid of confidence in Gruden surely has something to do with his ability to get his offensive game going. Since going goalless in those opening 34 games (zero goals, six assists), Gruden has since tallied 10 goals and added seven assists in his last 34 appearances.

"Yeah, I think I have taken a lot of big steps in my second year here," Gruden explained. "I think the big thing is just puck management, especially late in the game when we're up a goal, you got to make sure you get the puck in [to the offensive zone] and get the puck out [of the defensive zone]. I think that's an area that I've really improved on from last year," he said, adding he's trying to get stronger in the gym to make sure he's harder to play on the ice.

Gruden is one of several players who have benefited from the team, as a whole, buying in and playing a much stronger brand of hockey that is the Penguins' identity. Individual success and overall team success are often linked.

"After Christmas, I think I've really kind of took off," Gruden told InsideAHLHockey.com, mentioning he's played up in the lineup a bit more and playing with talented teammates has helped his offensive numbers. "It took a lot of time for me to get going [offensively], but I didn't really change too much of my game - just trying to stay the course. And I guess just found the back of the net more."

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