Looking back, the spring – particularly the month of April – was a blur for Jake Livanavage.
His North Dakota Fighting Hawks advanced to the Frozen Four in Vegas. After falling to Wisconsin in the semifinals, the defenseman signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins while sitting at Park MGM, right across the way from T-Mobile Arena.
Livanavage then made his way to Pittsburgh, joining the group for their season-ending road trip. He called sitting with childhood idol Sidney Crosby in the media level at Capital One Arena in Washington his ‘welcome to the NHL moment.’
Livanavage debuted in the next game, Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale in St. Louis, logging an impressive 25:14 minutes. Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse praised Livanavage’s skating ability, stick detail, and the intelligence he displayed making plays.
While Livanavage was ineligible to play in the NHL postseason, he remained with the club as they faced Philadelphia in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, soaking in everything he could.
“It was one of those things that's kind of hard to put it into words. Coming out of college, you don't really expect it,” said Livanavage, who turned 22 on May 6. “Just seeing the day-to-day, how guys prepare, how guys practice and stuff, it was such a good experience, and something that I'm going to bring with me for a long time.”
Livanavage took a lot back home to Arizona, where he was born and raised. The most actionable feedback Livanavage received from the Penguins staff centered around adding weight to his 5-10 frame, and he spent the first part of the summer leading into Development Camp focused on that. He put on around 15 pounds with the help of his mom, Amy.
“I've put on, I think, 15 pounds,” Livanavage said. “My mom helps me a lot. ... So, all the credit to her, she helps me. She's been there for me since the first day I started skating. It just shows how much she cares and what she's put into this. So, yeah, I mean, it's all thanks to her.”
Amy said they kept a journal so that they can easily modify if there isn’t enough progress, and to accurately track Jake’s macros. Since he has food allergies, the meals didn’t change much day to day.
For breakfast, Jake would typically have eggs with cheese, toast, bacon, berries and chocolate milk. Before training, he had a drink with electrolytes, creatine and carbohydrates along with a Honey Stinger waffle, jerky and Gatorade. Post-workout, a protein shake and pretzels.
Lunch would be ground turkey with rice and veggies, or a turkey sandwich with veggies and berries. For dinner, Amy did mostly sheet pans, with lemon chicken piccata being Jake’s favorite.
Typical snacks included sourdough bread, mozzarella cheese and olive oil, and two Chewy bars, yogurt and chocolate milk.
Now that Jake has filled out his frame a bit, he spent most of the summer getting used to having that extra weight while skating.
“Obviously, your legs have to work a little bit harder,” Livanavage said at Development Camp. “But you're in the gym working out the whole time, just getting them stronger. So, I think overall, it helps. ... once you (get bigger and stronger), everything else kind of falls into place a little bit.”
He returned to Pittsburgh in mid-August to prepare for the upcoming season, one Livanavage is especially excited for after having a whole offseason to get situated with his new team, who made him feel at home right away.
“Like, from the time I got off Zoom calls with Pittsburgh, it just felt like a comfortable spot,” Livanavage said. “Obviously, the guys you get to learn from here as well, that plays a factor into it, and just what the organization brings as a whole. Like, the development they bring to the table every single day, they care for their players. I mean, just top to bottom, it's such a surreal place, and just such an awesome place. Just super grateful to be a part of it.”
