Penguins Activate Jack St. Ivany

Before yesterday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they had activated defenseman Jack St. Ivany from the season-opening injured reserve. He had been recovering from a foot injury suffered in a preseason contest in early October.

Despite being on the SOIR, St. Ivany has been playing for the last few weeks, albeit for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. A few days before American Thanksgiving, the Penguins had loaned St. Ivany to the baby Penguins on a conditioning loan. He performed very well over that stretch, scoring one goal and five points in five games with a +3 rating.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see what the Penguins do in the next few days to thin out their defensive core. They dressed six for last night’s game, but have nine on the active roster. Last night, Harrison Brunicke, Matt Dumba, and St. Ivany were all scratched.

Being named to Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the 2026 World Junior Championships, Pittsburgh already knows that Brunicke will be off the roster for a few weeks, assuming he makes the final roster. However, the WJC doesn’t begin until the day after Christmas, and the Penguins have seven games between now and then.

Considering that all four of Filip Hallander, Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, and Rickard Rakell remain on the team’s injured reserve, it would make sense for the Penguins to switch a defenseman with an AHL forward to have an additional body up front. If they’re set with having St. Ivany on the roster for the time being, the team could try to pass one of Connor Clifton or Dumba, each of whom has been limited in playing time this season, through waivers.