Just as the offseason began in April, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas labeled the left side of the blue line as “a problem.”
And when the current season opened, a problem existed on the right side as well.
There were too many right-handed defensemen.
All-Stars Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang were entrenched on the depth chart, while a pair of veteran newcomers in Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba were added over the offseason when their previous teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars, respectively, dumped their seven-figure salaries onto the Penguins, who also accepted fairly high draft picks in those deals.
A wild card added to the mix of the right-handed defensemen was promising 19-year-old prospect Harrison Brunicke, who opened the season on the third pairing.
Then, there was Jack St. Ivany.
He didn’t get a chance to crack the lineup at the start of the campaign as a result of an injury he suffered when a puck struck his right foot during a preseason game Oct. 1.
Approximately 11 weeks later, he finally made his season debut at the NHL level on Tuesday in a 6-4 home win against the Edmonton Oilers.
Given the unappetizing result, St. Ivany wasn’t all that eager to celebrate any personal accomplishment.
“Not what we wanted as a team,” St. Ivany said Wednesday in Cranberry. “I feel like we respected them a little too much. Gave them too much space. For me, reflecting back to be able to get back to this level, push through injury, that’s something positive I can take from the day.
“Other than that, it’s back to work.”
St. Ivany put in plenty of work to get back into the lineup and part of that was a conditioning assignment with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in late November and early December. In five games with that club, St. Ivany posted five points (one goal, four assists) while primarily playing on the right side of the top pairing.
“Obviously, there’s some timing stuff getting back to playing games after taking a lot of time off,” St. Ivany said. “But I felt like my legs were really good. That was the number one thing. Then, as the first set of games went by, I started to get a little more timing. I felt by the end, my defending was a lot better from where it was. It went really good. The team is unbelievable there. Fun to play there.”
As for the NHL club, St. Ivany has been playing on the third pairing in his first two games back in the lineup. His partner has been left-handed veteran Brett Kulak, acquired in a trade Dec. 12.
“He’s really a nice guy,” St. Ivany said. “You could tell he was raised really well. Super positive, which is helpful on the bench. Little tips here and there. But a really steady player. It’s a nice partner to have.”
St. Ivany seemed to have a nice preseason before his injury. His base offensive figures weren’t all that impressive (one assist in four games) but his possession metric reflected well as he was on the ice for 12 high-danger scoring chances for and only four against according to Natural Stat Trick.
“It’s unfortunate,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “He gets hurt right at the end of preseason. He was really building his game and building momentum as we went through training camp. He’s a guy who, positionally, is always in really good spots. He makes a good first pass. In training camp, too, you saw him jumping into the play a little bit more, being involved.
“It’s going to be contributions at both ends of the ice. That’s the expectation.”
The expectations for St. Ivany are high enough that Penguins management opted to make a difficult decision to keep him on the roster.
On Dec. 12, the day Kulak and goaltender Stuart Skinner arrived in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers, Dubas needed to make room on the active roster. As such, he opted to expose Dumba, a 13-year veteran, to waivers and keep St. Ivany.
Dumba wound up clearing waivers and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while St. Ivany remained.
St. Ivany is obviously happy to remain. But he understands nothing is guaranteed.
“Whether it’s in the AHL or the NHLers, everyone is pushing for spots,” St. Ivany said. “It’s a nice nod to get back here but at the same time, your job is never secure. Every day, you’ve got to come to the rink, ready to work and ready to earn that spot because you know someone is coming to take it.
“It’s cool to be here but I’m not just satisfied with being here. I want to continue to push and be better.”