Defector: The Michal Pivonka Story

Michal Pivonka and his wife ran through a Yugoslavian forest to get to Italy and defect to the National Hockey League where he spent 13 seasons as a forward with the Washington Capitals.

Defection is a word that means the desertion of one’s country in favour of an opposing one. It’s a word that came up often during the 1980’s in hockey related publications and the mainstream media. Hockey players tired of living behind the Iron Curtain sought to do whatever it took to break free and come to North America to chase a better life and hocke…