Bryan Peter Rust (born May 11, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 and is the fourth longest tenured member of the organization aside from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
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Early life
Rust was born on May 11, 1992, in Pontiac, Michigan, U.S. to parents Steve and Betsy. Rust and his older brother Matt were both born with speech impediments and attended speech therapy. Growing up, he was a fan of the Detroit Red Wings and considered Martin Lapointe his favorite player.
Playing career
Youth and USNTDP
As a youth, Rust played in the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Honeybaked minor ice hockey team. In his final season with the Honeybaked 16U AAA team, Rust recorded 40 goals and 65 assists through 68 games. In March 2008, at the age of 16, Rust tried out for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP). After he was rejected due to his underdeveloped skills, Rust worked on his skating abilities after Honeybaked practices with team head coach Larry Knapp. He then attended a second USNTDP's second camp in Rochester, New York and was able to make the team. Although he committed to playing NCAA Division I college hockey for the University of Notre Dame, Rust was also drafted by the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the 2008 Ontario Hockey League Selection Draft. Rust chose to attend the University of Notre Dame, in part, due to the influence of his childhood friend, Tony Montagano. Before his death, Montagano would often share stories about the university with Rust. He was also influenced to attend college because he wanted a "degree to fall back on."
Collegiate
Leading up to the 2010 NHL entry draft, Rust was ranked 76th among all North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Before starting his freshman season at Notre Dame, Rust was drafted in the third round, 80th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2010 NHL entry draft. In 2020, NHL.com writers wrote up a re-draft of the 2010 draft class and Rust was ranked 20th overall. Following the draft, Rust played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team from 2010 to 2014 while enrolled in their Mendoza College of Business.
Rust made his collegiate debut with the Fighting Irish on October 8, 2010, against the Holy Cross Crusaders. He recorded his first goal on October 10 against Boston University and tallied his first assist shortly thereafter on October 15. Through his first nine games with the Fighting Irish, Rust accumulated one goal, one assist, and two penalty minutes. However, he then suffered a lower-body injury that resulted in him missing a contest against the University of Michigan and his brother. He returned to the Fighting Irish's lineup on November 20 for their game against Michigan State. On December 3, Rust set a new career-high with two goals and three points overall against the Miami RedHawks. Rust finished the regular season with 19 points as he helped the Fighting Irish qualify for the 2011 Frozen Four.
Before the start of the 2011–12 season, Rust was invited to tryout for Team USA's National Junior Evaluation Camp. Rust made an immediate impact for the Fighting Irish once he began his sophomore season by tallying a goal and an assist in his first two games. He quickly accumulated five goals and two assists for seven points through the first 16 games of the season. Rust's early accomplishments were noted by Jackson who said he saw Rust as a possible secondary scorer for the Irish. He finished the regular season with five goals and six assists for 11 points. On March 4, Rust tallied an assist on Anders Lee's second-period goal against Ohio State to advance the Fighting Irish to the second round of the CCHA playoffs. However, this would be his only point of the postseason.
Following his sophomore season, head coach Jeff Jackson privately called out Rust for becoming complacent and neglecting to work hard. As a result, Rust, his brother Matt, and Matt's former teammate worked out at a local gym during the offseason to improve their conditioning. Rust finished his junior season with a career-best 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points.
Professional
Rust officially concluded his collegiate career on April 1, 2014, after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Upon signing the contract, Rust was assigned to the Penguins American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (WBS Penguins), to conclude the 2013–14 season. He played two regular season games for the WBS Penguins and one playoff game but recorded no points.
After attending the Penguins training camp, Rust was re-assigned to the WBS Penguins to start the 2014–15 season. Rust competed with the Penguins during the preseason and led all team rookies with three goals. This continued into the regular season and Rust quickly found himself on the Penguins top line with Tom Kostopoulos and Nick Drazenovic. Rust remained in the AHL for the first half of the season before earning his first NHL recall on December 4 to replace an injured Scott Wilson. He was returned to the WBS Penguins without making his NHL debut on December 6 and recorded a goal in his first game back. When Rust was recalled again on December 13, he led the WBS Penguins with 10 goals and four assists through 25 games. The recall came at a time when the Penguins were missing numerous key players due to a mumps outbreak. He subsequently made his NHL debut that night against the Columbus Blue Jackets where the Penguins lost in a shootout. He would score his first NHL goal two nights later against Evgeni Nabokov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, on December 15, 2014. After Brian Dumoulin also scored his first NHL goal that night, the two became the first Penguins pair to reach this milestone at the same time since 2006. Rust played 14 games with the Penguins, and spent some time on their top line, before being returned to the AHL on January 14, 2015. Nearly a month following his return, Rust suffered a lower-body injury on February 21 and missed almost six weeks to recover. While he returned from the injury in early April, Rust quickly suffered another injury during a game against the Portland Pirates on April 12. Rust finished the regular season with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points but remained sidelined until May 9 when he returned to the WBS Penguins for game three of the Calder Cup playoffs against the Manchester Monarchs. He finished the postseason with two goals through three games.
While Rust was assigned to the WBS Penguins to start the 2015–16 season, he became the first player on the team to be recalled to the NHL level. His recall on October 15 came after he tallied one assist through two games. Rust went scoreless through five games with the Penguins before suffering an arm injury on October 24 during a game against the Nashville Predators. He subsequently spent 15 games on the Penguins' injured reserve list before being returned to the AHL on November 30. Upon rejoining the WBS Penguins, Rust returned to full capacity and skated in a team practice for the first time in five weeks. Rust officially returned to the WBS Penguins lineup on December 6. He played in eight games for the WBS Penguins, recording two goals, before being recalled to the NHL level again on December 20. While he was returned by the end of the month, Rust was recalled to the NHL level again on January 7 after adding one goal and two assists to his points total. Rust remained at the NHL level until the team acquired forward Mark Arcobello off waivers from the Predators on January 14. He was recalled to the NHL level shortly thereafter and remained with the Penguins NHL team for the remainder of the season except for a paper transaction to keep him eligible for the AHL postseason. The transaction required Rust to be re-assigned to the AHL for one day before being recalled the next day. After recording eight points in 33 games, including a career-best four points against the New Jersey Devils, Rust signed a two-year contract extension with the Penguins on March 14. Following a lower-body injury at the end of the month, Rust missed the Penguins final few games of the regular season. He subsequently finished the regular season with four goals and seven assists for 11 points through 41 games. He was also named the recipient of the Penguins Michel Brière Rookie of the Year Award.
Personal life
Rust's older brother Matt also played professional ice hockey and last played for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins during the 2011–12 AHL season. His older sister Erika is a high school English teacher and women’s soccer coach.
Rust met his wife Kelsey Burton in 2016 through mutual friends and the two were married on July 13, 2019, in Michigan. As of April 2025, they have two sons and one daughter together.