Bryan Rust
#17 / Right Wing / Pittsburgh Penguins
5-11 | 192 | May 11, 1992
Pontiac, MI | 80th, 2010 (Pittsburgh)
| Assets | Is an industrious winger with good speed and some scoring ability at lower levels. Is also a sound defensive player who can be trusted in key situations. |
| Flaws | Doesn’t have high-end scoring ability for the National Hockey League, so he will ultimately wind up a role player at the highest level. |
| Career Potential | Hard-working winger with some upside. (Assets, Flaws and Career Potential via The Hockey News player page) |
Career 25-Game Rolling Five-on-Five Corsi-For Percentage:
2015-16 Even-Strength Usage Chart:
Why you should know who he is: Because he’s going to play and we’ve profiled damn-near every other guy in the Pittsburgh organization with whom not every person on earth is intimately familiar.
Over the past two regular seasons, Rust has played 55 games, scored five goals (one against the Caps, natch) and added eight assists (one against the Caps, natch) while averaging around 12.5 minutes of almost exclusively even-strength ice time per night. He’s not the most useful player (not only does he not play teams, he isn’t used as a shutdown forward or fill an enforcer role either), but grinders grind and Rust never sleeps.
In the first round against New York, Rust was 18th out of 18 Pittsburgh skaters in ice time (minimum two games played), getting ten minutes of even-strength play per night and nothing on special teams. Oh, and then he had himself a second period in Game 5, notching a pair of goals and an assist. Where did that come from?
How the Caps can stop him: Seriously? Just keep Mike Weber away from him and the Caps should be able to keep the Rust-y trombone from blowing.
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