Pens sign 3 to contracts

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In the disappointment of the Pens missing the playoffs, there were a couple of young players who stepped up. One of those was signed to a three-year contract on Tuesday.

24-year-old Jack St. Ivany came up in late March and played most of the remaining games, 14 in all, and was rewarded for his play with a new deal.

Initially drafted by Philadelphia in the fourth round in 2018, he signed with the Pens on a two-year entry level deal before the start of the 2022 season. He played 117 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with four goals and 19 assists. Previously he played in the USHL and a pair of seasons at Yale and Boston College. St. Ivany also played for Team USA in the World Junior U-20 Championships.

Other signings

Jonathan Gruden
·     2-year contract at $775,000 at the NHL level. Also 24, Gruden played in 13 games with the Pens and the rest in the AHL with 13 goals and 11 assists in 47 games as the alternate captain. The 6' forward was also originally drafted in the fourth round in 2018, but by Ottawa.

Filip Kral
·     A third 24-year-old, the defenseman gets a one-year contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level. The 6'2", 198-pounder spent last season playing in Finland's top professional league where he had five goals, 32 assists in 46 games. He was also a league-best plus-28. Kral was drafted in the fifth round in 2018 by Toronto and has played for three Finnish national teams