Long, Busy Off-Season Has St. Ivany Recharged & Refocused To Challenge For NHL Roster

After an early exit from the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs sent the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins home in late April, players headed home for a lengthy off-season.

For defenseman Jack St. Ivany, he made good use of the time away from the rink - visiting with his girlfriend in Boston for a month along with hanging out away from the rink with several of his Penguins teammates including defense partner Ryan Shea and Corey Andonovski before returning home to Manhattan Beach, California to spend time with family.

From there, his family went to London, England to visit his brother - an actor in English theatre to see his performance in a production of The Grapes of Wrath.

The St. Ivany's also later ventured to Italy for a few days before heading back to California where Jack trained over the summer in preparation for the upcoming season.

"Yeah, it was a great summer to, you know, be with the family," St. Ivany explained to InsideAHLHockey.com. "The season is long. So it was nice."

While training in California with local players, St. Ivany was also able to skate and train with some of the Los Angeles Kings players who stayed in the area - most notably defenseman Drew Doughty, Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore. He also worked out and did some training at his alma mater Boston College while in Boston after the season ended.

"It was a nice group to be with. It was a fun summer," St. Ivany recalled of his off-season training.

While it was a disappointing first round sweep out of the postseason for the Penguins, St. Ivany took major strides forward in his development in his second season of pro hockey - earning his first NHL call up and appearing in 14 games with Pittsburgh down the stretch last year.

St. Ivany credits the WBS Penguins coaching staff with reiterating to him what to focus on his role on the team and playing within himself and his skill set for what allowed him to take that next step last season, a season in which is was arguably the AHL Penguins' best defender night in and night out.

"At every level, you need players who can be defensive and kill penalties," St. Ivany said, adding, "So I think I just stuck with that and really focused mentally on every day coming to the rink, focusing on the details, focusing on developing and just being consistent."

That consistency and strong play caught the attention of the Penguins staff, and with his continued strong play and growing confidence St. Ivany saw himself making his NHL debut on March 22 at Dallas.

There's no doubting that he's coming in to camp with his confidence high, and ready to challenge in training camp these next few weeks to make the Pittsburgh Penguins opening night roster. While the decision will ultimately be up to Penguins' GM Kyle Dubas and the Pens' management staff, it's up to St. Ivany to make sending him to the AHL to begin the season a difficult decision.

"It's difficult to not get consumed by all the noise of it. But at the end of the day, you know, there are spots available," St. Ivany told InsideAHLHockey.com after the opening day of training camp Wednesday afternoon. "So I'm just gonna stick to my mindset, stick to myself and play my game. and do everything I can to scratch and claw my way onto that lineup."