St. Ivany aims for playoffs once again

Jack St. Ivany is in a similar spot as he was a year ago.

He’s helping the Penguins make a run to secure a playoff spot.

To be certain, he’s helping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins accomplish that at this moment.

Having already secured a playoff berth in the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup Playoffs, Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton is chasing down a bye that would allow it to avoid the first round.

Last April, St. Ivany was doing that for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who fell a few points short of qualifying for the NHL’s postseason.

“It’s different in terms of you’re playing in the AHL versus the NHL,” St. Ivany said Thursday in Cranberry. “But right now, it feels kind of similar in terms of we’re going on a run to get a bye in the playoffs and (avoid) the first round. In a way, it feels similar in that every game is a must-win game. It’s similar in that it feels like playoff hockey. Obviously, a little different with the location. But other than that, the hockey is very similar.”

St. Ivany’s play to open the 2024-25 season was not all that similar to what he displayed at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. That’s why he has primarily toiled with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since early December.

Last season, St. Ivany was promoted to the NHL roster in mid-March and formed a steady, safe third defensive pairing with Ryan Shea. Skating in 14 games, he recorded one assist and was largely reliable in a somewhat sheltered role as the team went on an 8-2-2 heater at the end of the regular season that nearly secured a playoff berth.

His play was impressive enough that management resigned St. Ivany, a pending restricted free agent at the time, to a three-year, oneway contract extension worth $775,000.

Entering this season, the 25-year-old was expected to invigorate a mostly aging roster in a similar capacity, but his struggles largely mirrored the squad’s woes to open the campaign.

In 19 games at the NHL level this season, St. Ivany had one assist. By the end of November, he had been a healthy scratch in seven of a possible 26 games before he was sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Dec. 3.

“For me, it was a little bit of a confidence issue,” St. Ivany said. “Our team obviously wasn’t doing well and playing to the standards that we needed to. For me personally, it wasn’t the type of game that I wanted to put on the ice. In my head, I know I can play at that level (the NHL) and I can compete there. In the conversations I had with management was that in their experience, when a player dips in confidence and their game starts to slip a little bit when they’re younger, the best course of action is to go to the AHL and play 20, 25 minutes and re-find your game. It (stinks) to get sent down, but you can’t feel too sorry for too long.”

Any hopes he would reestablish his best game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were sidetracked when he suffered an undisclosed injury after two games.

That ailment cost him 15 games, and he did not re-join the lineup until Jan. 24. St. Ivany indicates there are no lingering aftereffects from that malady.

“I got set down and my second game (with Wilkes- Barre/Scranton), and then I was out for eight weeks,” said St. Ivany, who has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 33 AHL games. “That (stunk). But it took me five or six games to get back into it. I feel like I started stringing together some really good hockey.”

St. Ivany, a right-handed shot, offers a frank audit of what parts hockey he needs to spruce up.

“Being quicker with pucks,” St. Ivany said. “Obviously defending, you can always get better. Having a good stick. For me, it’s just using my feet. I’m a good skater and if I’m using those feet properly, then I’m making solid plays and good breakouts and defending with my feet. That’s just something that I’ve got to keep working on and improve and that can help me transition to the NHL.”

Even if he didn’t follow up on his success as the NHL level from last season, management certainly views St. Ivany as potentially having a future with the club.

“I don’t think we felt Jack was just going to come in and be a plug-and-play, everyday defenseman right now,” Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza said Feb. 19. “He’s still very young in his development, too. He’s a little bit older than some of these other guys, but he’s a guy that played a lot for us last year, played good hockey, but we needed him to grow. Then he gets derailed with an injury after getting sent down.

“We’re pretty happy with where he’s at in terms of development, and Jack realizes he’s in a fight for ice time as more guys come in. He’s a competitive kid, and I don’t doubt that he’ll continue to push.”

For now, St. Ivany is just focused on pushing for the playoffs.

Just like a year ago.