AFTER UGLY INJURY, McDONOUGH AIMS TO MAKE IMPACT WITH PENS

CRANBERRY, Pa. – There are a lot of words in the English language, but there’s not always a word that can fully encapsulate the complexity of every human emotion.

For example, what do you call it when you start a season white hot with a hat trick, earn player of the Week honors for opening week, rank second in the lead the league in tallies after October, then have it all abruptly end with a season-ending injury before the end of November?

There’s no one word for such a dispiriting turn of events, but Aidan McDonough had two.

“Not easy.”

That’s what happened to McDonough last year, suffering a broken fibula that brought the best start of his pro career to a screeching halt. The 25-year-old had 10 goals and 16 points in 16 games with the Charlotte Checkers before surgeons had to put plates and screws into his leg.

McDonough is fully healed now, and ready to embark on a new challenge with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. And with the 2025-26 campaign set to begin, the left-shot winger carries a fresh perspective born from last year’s disappointing trial.

“It makes you appreciate game of hockey even more when you know it can be taken away from you so quickly,” McDonough said. “I won’t be taking any sort of game, practice, or bag skate for granted, because I know what it’s like when you’re when you’re not out there for a long period of time.”

Rehab for a broken fibula doesn’t even start for two months after surgery, so McDonough was essentially immobile, bored, uncomfortable and restless until he could get in a walking boot and start working towards a return. Once those rehab exercises started, it was incremental progress from strengthening the quadriceps and hamstring, to then the achilles, to then reintroducing movements such as walking, running, jumping, and eventually, explosive strides like those used in hockey.

It was grueling work just to be able to skate again. He got there, but certainly not in time to contribute to Charlotte’s run to the Calder Cup Final. His tireless recovery continued back home in Massachusetts, but free agency was passing by without an NHL contract like he had previously with the Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers.

McDonough, healthy and determined to make an impact once the new season started, eventually signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Coincidentally enough, that was the team he scored his opening-night hat trick against back on Oct. 12, 2024. For McDonough, the choice to join the Penguins what influenced by what he saw on the ice back then, as well as the hard-fought contests between the Pens and Checkers that he watched from the sidelines.

“Playing against [Wilkes-Barre/Scranton] last year, I really liked the style of play they had,” he said. “They were fast, aggressive, offensive team. And I think the opportunity to come into an organization that’s looking to build and looking to grow, hopefully I establish myself as a player be a part of that future.”

He signed an AHL contract, but McDonough got the invitation to Pittsburgh Penguins training camp and has been making the most of it. He skated in Pittsburgh’s preseason game on Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, his first game-action of any kind in 10 months. The Penguins did not win that preseason bout in Columbus, but McDonough fared well. He recorded three shots on goal in 10:40 of ice time, tying him for most shots among Pittsburgh forwards.

It was another benchmark in what’s been a solid start to McDonough’s Penguins tenure, but he’s not willing to stop after one preseason contest.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in a competitive environment like this,” McDonough said. “It feels really good to be back on the ice. I’m just trying to get better every day, knock a little bit more of the rust off. And with that being said, I’m going to try to show what I can do and prove to myself that I can be here.”