Skating Down a Dream

‘Hey Sid [the] Kid, want 2 come over 4 a game of shinny?’

Jake Livanavage’s mother Amy remembers helping her son put that sign together ahead of a matchup between the Penguins and Coyotes in their home state of Arizona. Their seats were behind Pittsburgh’s bench, where Amy got a picture of a young Jake smiling wide with Crosby in the background.

“We couldn’t even really see the game, because we were right behind the bench,” Amy said.

“But it’s where he wanted to be,” his dad Jimmy said.

Tonight in St. Louis, Jake was on the bench as a member of the Penguins, as the 21-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut in Game 82 of the regular season. It came just days after signing a two-year, entry-level contract with Pittsburgh after his third year of college hockey with the University of North Dakota.

“We’re speechless, like, what do you say? He’s worked his entire life for this,” Amy said. “His dreams are coming true.”

Livanavage’s skating was the first thing Dan Muse mentioned when talking about the strengths of his game before the game, and again afterward.

“I thought he played well. You could see the skating, he was confident with the puck,” Muse said. “Early on in the game, too, like, his first shift, just good stick detail, disrupts the play. Then a couple shifts later, just a couple really good plays on breakouts, some little subtle things there. I thought you saw that confidence build as he goes on.”

Livanavage honed that skating through years of work with Boris Dorozhenko, who has been described as a Ukrainian-born hockey pro with a unique method of training focused on skating and balance. Dorozhenko started working with Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who is from Scottsdale, when the forward was just 8 years old.

“He would do 12, 14 weeks, six hours a day, with Boris,” Amy said.

“In the summer!” Jimmy added.

“We would say, we’re going on vacation,” Amy said.

“And he’s like, no, we’re not. No summer vacations. I’m training,” Jimmy said.

“He’s been to Japan with him. He’s a huge part of this,” Amy said. “Ray Whitney is as well. He’s the first one who said, go skate. Jimmy’s texting with him tonight. It’s so crazy. So many people have a part in this. It’s not one person. It’s so many people that are part of this.”

It was quite the turnaround for the entire Livanavage family, with Jake’s collegiate season ending after North Dakota got eliminated by Wisconsin in the Frozen Four.

“We love North Dakota. That has been the best experience of his life,” Amy said. “To lose that, you’re so down. Then he literally almost walked off and signed the contract. To be here, it happened so quick.”

“100%. It was very fast,” Jimmy said. “We had to turn the page and get ready for the next chapter.”

Jake logged a staggering 25:14 minutes in the contest, with Muse praising how he handled jumping right into the fire, without a real team practice. It was quite the learning experience, but one that should serve Livanavage well moving forward.

“Just everything that comes with it, the experience of getting that game under my belt, just knowing the style of play, the pace that it's played at,” Livanavage said, of what he’ll take away. “Just move forward with it and take it with me for the summer and be around for the playoffs and stuff. So, it'll be awesome.”