Penguins activate former first-round pick from IR

The Penguins announced that they’ve sent defenseman Jack St. Ivany to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. St. Ivany’s vacated roster spot will go to center Cody Glass, who’s nearing a return from a concussion and has been activated from injured reserve.

It’s the first time St. Ivany has been demoted this season. The 25-year-old has been an occasional healthy scratch after making the opening-night roster for the first time in his career, but he’s still managed to play in 19 of Pittsburgh’s 26 games this season.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pound righty has an assist and is averaging 16:22 per game, up significantly from last year’s 13:42 average in his first 14 games in the NHL. He’s had passable possession numbers in largely defensive-zone usage, controlling 46.1 percent of shot attempts and 46.3 percent of expected goals at even strength.

St. Ivany is physical, too, throwing the body 38 times, and he’s averaged over two minutes per game on the penalty kill when in the lineup. But he’s provided next to nothing offensively with two assists in 33 career games, although that shouldn’t be surprising for a player who had 15 points in 54 games with WBS last season and eight assists in 63 games the year before.

He’s still waiver-exempt and will be for the rest of this season unless he plays in 27 more games, so it’s no issue for the Pens to sneak him down to the minors. They signed him to a three-year, $2.325M partial two-way extension back in May to keep him off last summer’s restricted free-agent market.

Glass, 25, is technically now eligible to return Tuesday night against the Panthers, but head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters earlier Tuesday that there’s been no change in Glass’s status and that he remains day-to-day (via Josh Getzoff of SportsNet Pittsburgh). He’ll likely be ready for Friday’s game against the Rangers, however.

He’s missed the last 11 games with a concussion, which he suffered on Nov. 7 against the Hurricanes. Glass, who the Penguins acquired from the Predators back in August, had four assists and a -7 rating in 14 games this season while averaging 11:48 before exiting the lineup.