Jack St. Ivany’s offseason routine isn’t all that totally different than most NHLers.
“Went into the summer season with a recreation plan, understanding issues I favored to work on,” the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman mentioned. “Specifically, leg power. Had a few accidents that I wanted to get underneath management.”
There was one variance from what most professional hockey gamers do over the offseason, nevertheless.
He hit the waves off the shore of his hometown of Manhattan Seashore, Calif.
“We did plenty of browsing in the summertime,” St. Ivany mentioned. “Manhattan Seashore is a superb spot for hockey gamers to coach and likewise to have a good time. Fortunately, the shore break isn’t too large. like 1-2 foot waves. It’s good to go on the market with some longboards and sundown surf with your mates. It undoubtedly helps strengthen up the shoulders and the again.”
Given his roots on the West Coast, browsing is one thing St. Ivany has executed all through his life. And it has transferable advantages to his vocation as a hockey participant.
“You’ll see some guys on the market who, they don’t appear like they’re in the perfect form, however they’re shredding up and down waves,” mentioned the 26-year-old. “A whole lot of it’s simply sort of ability and simply information of the ocean, the place to be on waves, how far to be in your board, plenty of stability concerned, upper-body power. Any time you’re paddling, that resistance coaching is nice as a result of it’s tremendous simple on the joints and the muscle tissues. It’s totally different from weight coaching, the place you’re banging round weights. That is very fluid, much like swimming.
“Simply nice for shoulders, again, core (muscle tissues).”
St. Ivany grew stronger even by means of a less-than-ideal 2024-25 season that noticed him start the marketing campaign on the Penguins’ third pairing, then wrestle to the purpose the place wholesome scratches gave technique to practically everlasting task to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
An undisclosed damage sidelined him for a month and a half all through December and January. As soon as wholesome, he shaped a fairly constant defensive pairing with Owen Pickering for the AHL Penguins and accomplished the marketing campaign in that station.
“Total, I really feel prefer it’s essentially the most I ever realized about myself and concerning the recreation,” St. Ivany mentioned. “So, from that side, it was a extremely constructive season for me. Clearly, the highs and lows of constructing the staff firstly of the 12 months and never taking part in to the perfect of my skills for the primary stretch and getting despatched down, that was rather a lot to cope with mentally. However I really feel like I got here again from damage, I rebounded rather well and had a good time (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).
“I really feel like I developed my recreation and by the tip of the season, I used to be taking part in a number of the greatest hockey I’ve performed and I used to be actually assured.”
St. Ivany admitted his confidence sagged after his ragged begin to the season.
“Hockey is a recreation of errors,” St. Ivany mentioned. “Errors occur. Nobody is ever going to play an ideal recreation. It’s about actually the way you reply from these errors and ensuring you’re not constantly making the identical ones.”
One mishap St. Ivany will keep away from is evaluating himself to the opposite right-handed defensemen (nonetheless) on the roster, together with 30-something veterans with seven-figure wage cap hits similar to Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton.
“There’s a lot of good gamers right here within the room,” mentioned St. Ivany, who instructions a frugal common annual worth of $775,000. “However I’m not likely right here to depend numbers. I’m simply centered alone recreation. I don’t actually need to go on the market and play one thing that I’m not. I simply wish to follow my recreation and play that to the perfect of my skills.
“I’ve proven that I can play at that degree. Once I’m taking part in good protection, being bodily and shutting down performs, that’s once I’m best. If I do this, I do know I belong within the NHL.”
A part of that comes from understanding methods to journey the waves created by an NHL season.
“A whole lot of it’s consistency and persistently placing your greatest recreation on the market,” St. Ivany mentioned. “You’re not at all times going to have your A recreation, however it’s a must to have a stable B-plus, B recreation. You possibly can’t drop beneath that as a result of gamers are too good. You’re going to get caught off guard should you’re not taking part in as much as these requirements.
“Confidence, it’s not taking part in overly assured however understanding you may be there and belief your self.”
Notes: Goaltender Joel Blomqvist is “daily” with an undisclosed damage. … Ahead Noel Acciari participated in Wednesday’s morning skate in a non-contact style. He stays sidelined indefinitely attributable to a core muscle damage. … Ahead prospect Travis Hayes was returned to Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter protecting the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has coated the Penguins since 2007. He may be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
