When the Philadelphia Flyers picked defenseman Jack St. Ivany in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL draft, one of the team’s amateur scouts gave a glowing scouting report on the California native.

“His mobility is good. His first pass is good. His transition game is good. We’re excited about him and excited about his future,” Nick Pryor said.

Six years later, Pryor is the director of amateur scouting for the Penguins and St. Ivany’s future is in black and gold, not black and orange.

The Penguins signed St. Ivany as a college free agent Saturday, inking him to a two-year, entry-level deal worth $950,000 at the NHL level.

The Flyers, with Pryor as a scout and Ron Hextall as general manager, drafted St. Ivany in 2018 after a solid final season in the United States Hockey League. He had 36 points in 54 games with the Sioux Falls Stampede. He was a late bloomer, having grown from 5-foot-9 at age 16 into a sturdy 6-3, 200-pound right-handed defenseman.

St. Ivany, 23, spent the next four years in college, playing two years for Yale and two more for Boston College. His senior year was his best with 24 points in 35 games and a Hockey East Third All-Star Team selection.

The Flyers did not sign St. Ivany by the Aug. 15 deadline to lock up college draft picks, letting him hit free agency, where Hextall was ready to scoop him back up.

At the time of his draft, scouts liked St. Ivany’s two-way acumen and simple puck-moving ability. Skating was a concern.

Among his career highlights, St. Ivany helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2019 World Junior Championship.

For the Penguins, adding prospects via the college free agent route is a necessity, given how frequently the team trades away draft picks in the name of winning now at the NHL level. The Penguins have made a total of 24 draft picks in the last five years, 11 fewer than the standard seven picks per year.

While the Penguins are flush with defensemen at the top of the organizational depth chart, having nine under contract who could reasonably be expected to start next season in the NHL, their prospect ranks at the position are extraordinarily thin.

Beyond 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering, the cupboard is nearly bare.

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