Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: #20 - Jack St. Ivany

A massive mea culpa, as somehow the Erik Karlsson trade that sent prospect Nathan Legare out of the Penguin organization has thrown a mega monkey wrench in the Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25. Use the “Men in Black” memory thing to erase where you saw Ty Glover last week in the countdown, he’s bumping up to No 15. We’re going back in time — mid countdown — to fit Jack St. Ivany in at 20. Tomorrow we’ll proceed with 14 and be back on track.

Confused? Us too. So, so much us too.

2023 Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed
#25: Daniel Laatsch
#24: Cooper Foster
#23: Thimo Nickl
#22: Dillon Hamaliuk
#21 Mikhail Ilyin
#20: Jack St. Ivany
#19: Chase Yoder
#18: Emil Jarventie
#17: Nolan Collins
#16: Raivis Ansons
#15: Ty Glover

#20 Jack St. Ivany, RHD

2022 Ranking: N/A

Age: 24 (Jul. 22, 1999)

Acquired Via: free agent signing, August 2022

Height/Weight: 6’3”, 201 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:

Jack St. Ivany is something of a parting gift to the Penguins from former general manager Ron Hextall. Hextall, then with the Flyers, drafted the lanky defenseman in the fourth round in 2018. After a respectable college career at Yale and Boston College, Philadelphia didn’t get St. Ivany to sign a pro contract but Hextall was waiting with a two-year entry level contract to reunite with the defender.

St. Ivany’s rookie campaign was spent in Wilkes-Barre, where after being a healthy scratch early in the season he found himself as a regular in the AHL lineup for the majority of the 72-game regular season. St. Ivany didn’t score a goal but had flashes — like a three-assist game in a win over Hartford in January. He also had a multi-assist game in March against Lehigh Valley.

The clock is already ticking on St. Ivany, now in the final year of his contract and having seen a big supporter of his in Hextall depart. The Penguins have also loaded up on veteran defenders like Ryan Shea and Will Butcher this season that could make finding a spot in the AHL something to be earned. The AHL has a limit on how many veterans can play per game, which could prove to be a strategic advantage to give hm an opportunity to get games in.

Also working against St. Ivany in a pro perspective is that at age-24 and his draft+6 season, he’s not exactly a youngster as far as hockey prospects go. And while maintaining a spot in the AHL as a rookie is somewhat impressive, he was a lower-lineup player on one of the worst teams in the league last season that will be expecting and aiming for much higher in the coming year.

St. Ivany’s offense won’t jump off the page and is not what he is known for, but hopefully he can make a common “second season jump” as he is now well-acclimated to the league. St. Ivany might take heart in the journey of someone in the organization like Chad Ruhwedel, who went the college route and wasn’t a full-time NHL player until the age of 27.

Ruhwedel, however, is more of an exception than a rule and also found himself getting NHL cameos prior to finally making the full-time landing. St. Ivany remains a level or two under that as he looks to find his way, but he does have a great professional opportunity in 2023-24 for himself and to see how much he can provide for the organization at the AHL level before deciding what may come next.