No amount of tanking can replace the value in winning with Koivunen and McGroarty

Penguins fans have rightfully wanted the team to tank to finish this season to help their cause in the upcoming draft lottery. The additions of Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen have thrown a wrench into that plan, though.

The Penguins have collected five out of six possible points since their callups.

While the Penguins might be worse off collecting points in these final games of the season, the experience the Baby Penguins have acquired in this short stint are far more valuable than any draft capital the Penguins may use.

Let's walk through why that is.

Winning Beats Talent

There is only one stat in the sports world that matters: Wins.

No amount of talent and physical ability can beat the innate ability to win. Some people are born winners. Sidney Crosby is one of them. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who wins more at anything than Sidney Crosby.

Crosby lethally combines talent with the innate ability to win, which is why he's going to go down as one of the greatest players in the sport of hockey, and arguably should be considered the best.

The thing about winning, though, is that it's like a disease - but a good disease. Once you start winning, sometimes it's hard to stop. You develop the Midas Touch, and everything you touch turns to gold.

Like physical diseases, some of them you're born with, but others are developed later in life. Winning is like a disease in that both properties are true.

The thing about hockey prospects is that not all of them are innate winners - they don't always have winning embedded in their DNA.

What these three games - the OT win against Ottawa, the tight loss to St. Louis, and the win in Dallas - have done for Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen is develop their "Winning Gene". Mike Sullivan put both of them on the ice in key moments in the game and let them spread their wings.

In the Blues game, we saw both of them take flight.

When the clock is ticking down and you're staring down defeat, how will you respond? This is the question every athlete is asked at some point in their career.

We learned how Rutger McGroarty responds on Thursday.

Developing the Winning Gene

I, personally, had a very successful athletic career. While I didn't get to play at the next level, I excelled at the levels I was at.

One thing athletes need to develop is a slow heart rate. I played baseball, so I didn't have to deal with the constraints of a ticking clock. In hockey, though, you are playing against more than just your opponent. You have time to contend with.

McGroarty showed on Thursday that even when the dying seconds tick down, his heart rate is under control. Some of the most surreal moments as an athlete are when time itself slows down at your beckon call. If you're an experienced athlete you know the feeling.

The interesting aspect of slowing down time is that you don't choose when it happens. It chooses you, in a way. It's a moment you don't realize you're living in until you're already in it.

Again, that specific trait has to be developed. It's a heart condition. Can you maintain a slow, steady heartbeat in the most stressful moments?

By the way McGroarty and Koivunen have played in the three games since their callup, I think we're getting an answer to that question.

It's a resounding yes. McGroarty playing on Crosby's line and logging two assists and a goal in three games is undeniable evidence of that.

How would you react if you were called up and immediately put on the same line as the greatest player in hockey history, thrust into playing in front of thousands of people against three playoff teams?

We see out of McGroarty the slow heartrate, the ability to make sound decisions in stressful circumstances, and his body responding to his brain to execute effectively. Those traits and their development are invaluable for a young player.

Ville Koivunen, while not frequent on the scoresheet, is also displaying those characteristics in his first three NHL games. He doesn't look out of place on the ice. In fact, he seems like he's right where he belongs.

Both McGroarty and Koivunen are still kids. Heck, they might as well be Sidney Crosby's grandkids! Yet, these three games have already done wonders on their development, something we were a little concerned about when they were first called up.

Development Over Draft

Every sports rebuild can begin a cycle of going through failed assets, only to move on and acquire new assets to try out. This can take years to manage.

The bottom line for the Pittsburgh Penguins right now has to be: Embrace what you have, not what you have not.

The Penguins have 30 draft selections in the next three years, and that's all fine and dandy. However, all or none of those future draft picks might turn out. They might all be great, and we'll be talking about a dynasty in a few years.

Or...none of them could hit. And that's very possible, no matter how high they pick this year.

A great fall of mankind is looking elsewhere and coveting what you don't have instead of embracing the incredibly valuable things you do have. The Penguins have two very valuable prospects in McGroarty and Koivunen. They should not be neglected in this process.

At some point, draft capital has to turn into on-ice production. So, why not just enjoy and develop the production you're already getting and will continue to get from your Baby Penguins?

Pittsburgh hasn't seen a good hockey prospect since Jake Guentzel. Go back in history, and if you find another one, let me know. There is no reason the Penguins can't embrace this vigorous, youthful bunch for who they are.

Develop these kids. Let them learn. Teach them how to win. Let it seep into their being. Then, in just a few years, when Crosby is scoring 45 goals at age 40, we'll be singing Party Hard all the way to the Stanley Cup.