NY Islanders News: Bridgeport Islanders sign Christian Krygier, Jacob Pivonka, & Riley Piercey to AHL contracts

The NY Islanders American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, announced on Friday morning they have made a trio of signings. The Jr. Islanders have inked Jacob Pivonka and Christian Krygier who were previously with the team following their NCAA seasons on amateur tryout contracts, and Riley Piercey who is coming out of the Ontario Hockey League with the Flint Firebirds.

The newest member of the Islanders organization, Piercey, is a 21-year-old undrafted forward that can play on both the left and right-wing. The Mississauga, Canada native has spent the last five seasons playing in the OHL, one-plus seasons with the Barrie Colts before he was traded to the Firebirds in the 2019-20 season. Piercy really began to come into his own in the 2021-22 season when he scored a career-high 27 goals and 58 points, only to follow that up last season shattering those numbers by scoring 22 goals and 48 assists for 70 points in the 2022-23, a new career high. In the 2023 postseason, Piercey added three goals and seven assists in 18 games as the Firebirds' season ended at the OHL Western Conference Final.

Krygier was signed on tryout by the B-Isles and he made his AHL debut on April 12th following the conclusion of his NCAA season with Michigan State University in March. The defenseman only skated in two games for Bridgeport before their season ended and they didn't make the playoffs. Krygier didn't record any points. Pivonka signed his ATO on the same day as Krygier, but the forward instead played two additional games for the B-Isles. In four games, Pivonka didn't record any points. Despite going pointless, the Jr. Islander brass saw enough out of Krygier and Pivonka that earned the duo their first professional hockey contracts.

For more on Krygier and Pivonka's pre-AHL careers, you can visit our previously published articles on the two newest members of the Jr. Islanders here.