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<p>A lot has changed for Shavertown&#8217;s Patrick McGrath over the last year. The 22-year-old wrapped up his second pro season as a fan favorite with Wheeling in the ECHL, became the first locally-born player to play in a regular season game with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and this summer, he earned a contract with his hometown team.</p><p>But there&#8217;s one thing that hasn&#8217;t changed, and it was on display last week when McGrath worked out on the ice at the Toyota Sportsplex.</p><p>Hard work.</p><p>Despite the two years of experience and a contract under his belt, McGrath is entering this season ready to earn everything he gets. And he hopes that includes an invite to Pittsburgh&#8217;s training camp next week.</p><p>&#8220;You still have to do that. It&#8217;s nice having a contract, but I&#8217;m still going to work as hard as I can every day,&#8221; said McGrath while seated in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton locker room after Friday&#8217;s workout.</p><p>&#8220;If (Pittsburgh) calls me to come out, great. But in the meantime I&#8217;m just going to keep preparing and be ready for that camp or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s later this month.&#8221;</p><p>While McGrath will always take pride in being the first local player to skate for the Penguins, he still appreciates the opportunity to work out with and learn from a player he grew up watching play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: Tom Kostopoulos.</p><p>The two shared the ice last week with Kostopoulos leading by example, putting his teammate through offensive drills and wrapping things up by skating endless laps around the rink.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so lucky he&#8217;s still here,&#8221; McGrath said. &#8220;Just being out there with him and following what he does is a great experience. He&#8217;s played the game for so long you know he&#8217;s doing something right.&#8221;</p><p>While McGrath absorbs everything Kostopoulos does and says, the influence goes both ways.</p><p>The 36-year-old Kostopoulos said it&#8217;s fun to work out with a player as hungry as McGrath.</p><p>&#8220;You can see that he&#8217;s working hard because he wants to make a statement in training camp and show what he can do,&#8221; Kostopoulos said. &#8220;I hope it pays off for him.&#8221;</p><p>With the recent departure of tough guy Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to New Jersey last week, McGrath has an opportunity to fill the toughness void with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. He registered 246 penalty minutes in 59 games with Wheeling last season and has been willing to drop the gloves at every stop of his career.</p><p>Ironically, McGrath worked out with Leblond as well this summer and he learned a few things from the veteran.</p><p>&#8220;It was huge having a guy like that around and you pick up a lot from him,&#8221; McGrath said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a role I definitely want to fill and toughness has always been a part of my game and will continue to be, especially with Leblond gone.&#8221;</p><p>But McGrath has been busy this summer honing other aspects of his game as well. For the last several years, including this summer, he spent weeks working with a power skating instructor to improve his speed. It&#8217;s important to not only play tough, but contribute offensively and defensively as well, McGrath said. To do that effectively, you have to be able to skate.</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re speed is up and you&#8217;re not playing catch up on the ice, you can make plays and be involved in the game,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been working on power skating for a few years and it&#8217;s paying off.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Penguins winger Patrick McGrath chases after the puck during a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in December. With a contract with the Penguins under his belt, McGrath spent the offseason training with veteran players. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_pens_tigers1_faa1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre/Penguins winger Patrick McGrath chases after the puck during a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in December. With a contract with the Penguins under his belt, McGrath spent the offseason training with veteran players. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Shavertown native has spent the summer working out with Tom Kostopoulos at the Toyota Sportsplex</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

No time off for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Patrick McGrath