Milton’s Shea finds a home
PITTSBURGH — The Steel City’s No. 3 defense pairing, with Ryan Shea on the left and Jack St. Ivany on the right, has been a gift from the Hockey East heavens, though neither blue liner made a direct skate from their respective college campuses to the Penguins’ blue line.
Shea, 27, grew up in Milton and played three years at BC High before a one-season tuneup with USHL Youngstown. Originally a Blackhawks draft pick, he turned pro as a free agent with the Stars after graduating from Northeastern in 2020, then joined the Penguins as a free agent last summer after three years of not getting a shot with the varsity Stars.
“It’s been a pretty long road to get here,” Shea said prior to the Bruins’ 6-4 win Saturday. “Obviously, I didn’t get my opportunity in Dallas, even though I was playing pretty good hockey there. But that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes — you’ve just got to be patient. I pretty much never gave up on my dream to play in the NHL.”
St. Ivany, a California kid from Manhattan Beach, began his career at Yale, then transferred to Boston College after his sophomore season. Originally a Flyers pick, the 24-yearold was a free agent upon leaving the Heights in 2022, signed with the Penguins, and only recently was promoted from AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton.
The infusion of youth on the back line, noted coach Mike Sullivan, has been a key element in helping boost the Penguins, who were 5-0-1 in their six April games prior to facing the Bruins. The recent hot streak had the team back in the hunt for one of the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
“We tried to sign him when he was coming out of college,” said Sullivan, noting that Shea long had been on the club’s radar. “This time around, when we had the opportunity to sign him and add him to this group of defense, I was certainly excited. We had done some homework when he was coming out of Northeastern and then since he’s played at the American League level — he’s been one of the better defensemen at the AHL level in the role that he plays.”
Shea’s game, not flashy, has been more that of a conservative, stay-at-home back liner, though in today’s game all defenseman are charged with more than just pushing guys away from their net. Sullivan refers to Shea as a “stabilizing” defenseman, one who can calm things down defensively and also help move pucks out of the defensive zone.
“He defends well … a calming force,” said Sullivan. “He makes good plays with the pucks. He has very deceptive moves and that helps us get pucks out of our end. He defends well with his stick, has good size [6 feet 2 inches, 200 pounds], good on the penalty kill, and that was the game we were hoping he was going to bring to our team.”
Shea made his NHL debut with the Penguins in October and saw ample action through November before being returned to the AHL in early December. He’s only been a roster regular again since the start of April, which also coincides with that 5-0-1 run Pittsburgh took into the game here vs. the
NHL’s other Black and Gold franchise.
“Honestly, it’s great,” said Shea, musing over what it meant to face the Bruins, the team he idolized as a kid growing up only a Red Line commute away from the Garden area. “You grow up watching the Bruins, guys like [Zdeno] Chara and [Patrice] Bergeron and guys even earlier, like [Johnny] Boychuk … The guys I liked to watch on the blue line. They brought a lot of joy to everyone in Mass. back in the day.”
Maroon gets call
The Bruins’ power play, a bugaboo of late, rolled out with some changes here vs. the Penguins after going a low-pulse 2for-27 over the last nine games.
The most obvious twist had Pat Maroon, playing his first game in Black and Gold, manning the net front on the No. 2 unit, joined up front by Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen. Kevin Shattenkirk, back for his first game action since April 2, returned to point duty, supported in large part by Morgan Geekie.
Shattenkirk had a familiar screener up front in Maroon. The two played together in Tampa in 2019-20 and have a Cup ring to prove it.
“We all know what he does and the strengths of his game,” said Shattenkirk. “A bit part of that [for Maroon] is being at the net front. I played with him at Tampa on the second power play. That was our M.O. to get pucks there. We know not only does he do a great job of screening, but he can make those little plays along the goal line, so again, I think he fits perfectly into the mold for what we are trying to do on our unit — he’s a great asset to have him slot in there.”