Moving on to the players that just missed out on the top five. Just like the rest of our top ten these players have continued to rise up the rankings. While the two in this article didn’t have gigantic jumps, both moved up in the top ten and have a strong shot at making the top five next year. Outside of the ranking spots, these players had pretty identical PLHK seasons, but one of them was able to break out a bit more outside of Poland’s top league.

Players had to be under the age of 20 and at least 13 years old on September 12th, 2022. We are only judging play that occurred before that date as well. Players are evaluated based on a combination of career history, current play, and potential. Skaters must have played at least five games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 113 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Fifty players received a ranking.

Players 50-31	Players 15-11
Players 30-21	Players 10-8
Players 20-16

7 – Lena Zięba (F), 16, Polonia Bytom (10, +3) 

Zięba struggled last year to find a permanent spot on the Polonia Bytom roster, but in 2022 she was one of the team’s stars. In 22 games this past year, she scored 23 goals and assisted on an additional 20 goals. Her 43 points were second among all U16 skaters and twelfth for all skaters. After four points in eight games last year, you love to see this breakout of scoring. Zięba represented team Poland U18 at the Division 1 Group B Championships but did not display the same scoring prowess as in the PLHK. She is a very talented forward who will only continue developing her offensive game as she gains more senior experience. Her key offensive smarts are on full display when on the powerplay, where she excels when defenses start to collapse.

6 – Julia Łapińska (F), 17, Stoczniowiec Gdansk (9, +3) 

Łapińska played just about everywhere she should in 2022 and looked good at each spot. Her season started with representing the Polish national team at the final round of Olympic qualification, and she recorded one assist in three games. She then split her club season between Gdansk and Metropolis Katowice. While she was held pointless in ten EWHL games, her PLHK season was top-tier. In 20 games, she recorded 45 points (17G-28A-45PTS), eleventh among all PLHK skaters. 

Łapińska finished her terrific season with two more national team appearances. The first was representing the senior Poland team at the Division 1 Group B World Championships. The second was as a part of the U18 squad for the September tournament, where she posted one assist in four games.  Łapińska cemented herself in 2022 as a part of the senior national team and their quest for gold.

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