Jack St. Ivany’s offseason routine isn’t all that different than most NHLers.
“Went into the summer with a game plan, knowing things I liked to work on,” the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman said. “In particular, leg strength. Had a couple of injuries that I needed to get under control.”
There was one variance from what most pro hockey players do over the offseason, however.
He hit the waves off the shore of his hometown of Manhattan Beach, Calif.
“We did a lot of surfing in the summer,” St. Ivany said. “Manhattan Beach is a great spot for hockey players to train and also to have a great time. Thankfully, the shore break isn’t too big. Looking at like 1-2 foot waves. It’s nice to go out there with some longboards and sunset surf with your friends. It definitely helps strengthen up the shoulders and the back.”
Given his roots on the West Coast, surfing is something St. Ivany has done throughout his life. And it has transferable benefits to his vocation as a hockey player.
“You’ll see some guys out there who, they don’t look like they’re in the best shape, but they are shredding up and down waves,” said the 26-year-old. “A lot of it is just kind of skill and just knowledge of the ocean, where to be on waves, how far to be on your board, a lot of balance involved, upper-body strength. Any time you’re paddling, that resistance training is great because it’s super easy on the joints and the muscles. It’s different from weight training, where you’re banging around weights. This is very fluid, similar to swimming.
“Just great for shoulders, back, core (muscles).”
St. Ivany grew stronger even through a less-than-ideal 2024-25 season that saw him begin the campaign on the Penguins’ third pairing, then struggle to the point where healthy scratches gave way to nearly permanent assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
An undisclosed injury sidelined him for a month and a half throughout December and January. Once healthy, he formed a pretty consistent defensive pairing with Owen Pickering for the AHL Penguins and completed the campaign in that station.
“Overall, I feel like it’s the most I ever learned about myself and about the game,” St. Ivany said. “So, from that aspect, it was a really positive season for me. Obviously, the highs and lows of making the team at the beginning of the year and not playing to the best of my abilities for the first stretch and getting sent down, that was a lot to deal with mentally. But I feel like I came back from injury, I rebounded really well and had a great time (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).
“I feel like I developed my game and by the end of the season, I was playing some of the best hockey I’ve played and I was really confident.”
St. Ivany admitted his confidence sagged after his ragged start to the season.
“Hockey is a game of mistakes,” St. Ivany said. “Mistakes happen. No one is ever going to play a perfect game. It’s about really how you respond from those mistakes and making sure you’re not continuously making the same ones.”
One mishap St. Ivany will avoid is comparing himself to the other right-handed defensemen (still) on the roster, including 30-something veterans with seven-figure salary cap hits such as Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton.
“There’s lots of good players here in the room,” said St. Ivany, who commands a frugal average annual value of $775,000. “But I’m not really here to count numbers. I’m just focused on my own game. I don’t really need to go out there and play something that I’m not. I just want to stick to my game and play that to the best of my abilities.
“I’ve shown that I can play at that level. When I’m playing good defense, being physical and shutting down plays, that’s when I’m most effective. If I do that, I know I belong in the NHL.”
Part of that comes from knowing how to ride the waves created by an NHL season.
“A lot of it is consistency and consistently putting your best game out there,” St. Ivany said. “You’re not always going to have your A game, but you have to have a solid B-plus, B game. You can’t drop below that because players are too good. You’re going to get caught off guard if you’re not playing up to those standards.
“Confidence, it’s not playing overly confident but knowing you can be there and trust yourself.”
Notes: Goaltender Joel Blomqvist is “day to day” with an undisclosed injury. … Forward Noel Acciari participated in Wednesday’s morning skate in a non-contact fashion. He remains sidelined indefinitely due to a core muscle injury. … Forward prospect Travis Hayes was returned to Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.