Worcester Railers forward Jake Pivonka is headed over to Germany after spending just over a year in the New York Islanders organization. Pivonka, who was a fourth-round pick of the Islanders back in 2018, would play five years at the NCAA level, with four of those five years being at the University of Notre Dame, where he played in 129 games, putting up nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points and won a B1G Championship with the Fighting Irish in 2019, and would be named team captain for the 2021-22 season. The Kansas native would spend his final year of eligibility at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he’d put up 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points in 37 games before joining the Bridgeport Islanders for four games at the end of the regular season.
The 24-year-old forward spent the majority of last season with the Railers, scoring 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 60 games. He also saw action in five games in the AHL with the Bridgeport Islanders, where he put up one assist. Pivonka finished in the top five in all offensive categories for the Railers this past season. This is a substantial loss for the Railers as they are losing not only a point producer but someone who can play down the middle as well; this is the start of what is expected to be an interesting off-season for the Railers as they are also in the market for a new head coach.
