It’s another week with Iga Świątek at the top of the tennis world, and another week I am recapping the Polish offseason. Some things never change! This week saw a few big moves inside the THL, and Pawel Dronia signed in the third level of German hockey.

Beginning of the Offseason (Week 1)	Week of May 6th (Week 4)	Week of May 27th (Week 7)
Week of April 22nd (Week 2)	Week of May 13th (Week 5)
Week of April 29th (Week 3)	Week of May 20th (Week 6)

Cracovia Krakow

• We know the first of three Swedish signings for Cracovia as veteran forward Hannes Johansson joins the squad. The fast skater has spent all of his career in Sweden, mainly in the HockeyAllsvenskan. Across nine seasons, he has 87 points in 310 games in the Swedish second level. 
• National team defenseman Yevgeni Kamenev will be joining the red and white. Kamenev has spent the last three years with JKH GKS Jastrzebie. The Minsk, Belarus native played youth hockey with Sanok before spending some of his junior career in Slovakia. The 27-year-old will be playing in his ninth THL season after scoring one goal and assisting on three last year. 
• Kamil Mętel has earned a contract with Cracovia. The 18-year-old signed a three-year deal after spending the past four years in the MHL with MKS Cracovia Krakow. He will look to make his THL debut in 2025.

GKS Katowice

• No moves this week for Katowice.

GKS Tychy

• No moves this week for Tychy.

JKH GKS Jastrzebie

• After two years with Cracovia, Martin Kasperlík is returning to JKH GKS Jastrzebie. A long-time veteran of the THL, the Czech forward will be playing in his ninth THL season. He played with Unia Oswiecim (2017-2018), JKH GKS Jastrzebie (2019-2022), and Cracovia (2023-2024). With over 250 career points, last season was a bit of a down year, with only 17 points (8G-9A-17PTS) in 41 games. 
• Another Czech forward joining Jastrezbie is Zdeněk Král. He was an assistant captain with SC Kolín for the past two seasons. Kral has spent most of his career in the Chance Liga, with 177 points in 251 games over seven seasons. The 25-year-old also spent two years at the top level of Slovakia.

KH Torun

• Vadim Vasjonkin is coming back to Torun! The Estonian national team forward played for various Southern Professional Hockey League clubs over the last two seasons. He last appeared for Torun during the 2022 season after coming over from Kazakhstan at the transfer deadline. The 6’3 left wing had 11 points (4G-7A-11PTS) in 24 games with Torun. 
• Latvian defender Pauls Svars will stay in Torun after coming over late last season. He presented the Latvian junior national team early in his career, serving as an assistant captain of the U20 squad. The 26-year-old played in the Erste for two seasons before coming to Poland. He made a quick impact with five points (1G-4A-5PTS) in 12 games.

Podhale Nowy Targ

• Łukasz Kamiński has re-signed with Podhale Nowy Targ on a one year deal. The forward posted a career-high of seven points (5G-2A-7PTS) last year. The 25-year-old Kaminski previously appeared with Cracovia and represented Poland U20 during his junior days. 
• Marat Saroka will also stay put in Podhale. The forward, who was born in Belarus and has a Polish passport, has appeared with Nowy Targ since the 2022 season. In 2024, he posted career highs in games played (46) and points (4). 
• Young goalie Szymon Klimowski will also continue with the organization. Last year, he started for MMKS Podhale Nowy Targ in the Polish second league and posted an impressive .922 save percentage in 17 games. The 6’2 netminder represented Poland U20 at the Division 1 Group B U20 World Championship in 2023.

STS Sanok

• There are no moves yet this offseason for Sanok.

Unia Oswiecim

• In a big move involving one of the biggest players in Poland, Swedish forward Hampus Olsson is swapping THL final teams with a transfer to Unia Oswiecim. Last season, the 6’6 forward scored 25 goals and assisted on 25 in 57 games. This will be his third THL season, and he won a championship in his first year in 2023. Before coming to Poland, Olsson played in Sweden’s second and third levels, along with a season in the Ontario Hockey League.

Zaglebie Sosnowiec

• Sosnowiec has retained two of its young players, Aleks Menc and Olaf Wlodara. Menc developed in the Naprzod Janow junior system before playing junior hockey in Czechia and Sweden. He represented Poland U20 at the last two Division 1 Group B U20 World Championships. He appeared in 21 games with Sosnowiec this past season. Defenseman Olaf Wlodara developed mainly with AZ Havířov in Czechia. He appeared in 13 games with Sosnowiec in 2024. The 6’2 defender represented Poland at the 2022 Division 1 Group B U18 World Championship.

Polish Players Abroad

• National team defenseman Paweł Dronia will be staying in Germany but switching leagues. The 34-year-old will be dropping to the Oberliga with Bietigheim Steelers. The Steelers were relegated from the DEL2 in 2024. The club also signed Polish national team goalie David Zabolotny this off-season. Dronia had spent the past six seasons with the Ravensburg Towerstars in the DEL2. 
• Paweł Obłoński has re-signed with Falu IF in Sweden’s third level, HockeyEttan. The 25-year-old forward has played in Sweden since the 2016 season. He helped the Falu IF organization earn promotion from the four-level during the 2023 season. In 39 games last year, he had four goals and three assists. 
• Polish junior player Filip Piatkowski will vie for a spot on HC Energie Karlovy Vary U20. Last year, the 17-year-old appeared for the club’s U17 B squad. He recorded 12 points (5G-7A-12PTS) in 31 games at the second level of Czech U17 hockey.

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