In May of this year, the Polish U16 squad finished their incredible year by winning one of the biggest U16 tournaments in Europe, the Riga Cup. The Polish team has been working their way up the tournament and was determined to take home gold after finishing with Silver last year. The Polish team finished with an almost perfect record winning six games and drawing in two matches. They would advance to the goal medal game versus the Swedish Top Speed Hockey Program. Poland would defeat them 3-0 with the gaming-winning goal from Olaf Zachariasz, while Kacper Michalski pitched the shutout.

Roster

Goalies: Bartosz Brynczka, Juliusz Cegliński, & Kacper Michalski

Defensemen: Filip Wojciechowski, Jan Matera, Igor Antolak, Maciej Tuszkowski, Miłosz Bąk, Patryk Zubek, Paweł Słomian, & Wojciech Wilczok.

Forwards: Adam Leśniok, Adrian Ziober, Filip Piątkowski, Jakub Janik, Jacek Juchniewicz, Jakub Skrzypski, Maksymilian Rusnak, Marcin Sroka, Matuesz Biały, Mateusz Majkowski, Mikołaj Osiadły, Olaf Zachariasz, Szymon Gumiński, Wiktor Makuła, Wiktor Zając

Results

Game 1: Falkons vs. Poland U16 – 2:2. Poland Goals: Jakub Janik & Jan Matera

Game 2: Poland U16 vs. Baltu Vilki/BHC37 – 3:0. Poland Goals: Wojciech Wilczok, Olaf Zachariasz, Igor Antolak

Game 3: Lithuania U16 Selects vs. Poland U16 – 1:3. Poland Goals: Filip Wojciechowski, Mikołaj Osiadły, & Wojciech Wilczok

Game 4: Poland U16 vs. Jelgavas LSS – 6:0. Poland Goals: Szymon Gumiński, Wojciech Wilczok, Mikołaj Osiadły, Maksymilian Rusnak, Adrian Ziober, & Jacek Juchniewicz.

Game 5: HS Rīga 2007 vs. Poland U16 – 1:2. Poland Goals: Wiktor Zając & Patryk Zubek

Game 6: Strömsbro HC vs. Poland U16 – 1:1. Poland Goal: Mateusz Majkowski

Semi-Final: Poland U16 vs. HS Kurbads 2007/08 – 4:1. Poland Goals: Olaf Zachariasz, Jakub Skrzypski, Mateusz Majkowski, & Marcin Sroka

Final: Top Speed Hockey vs. Poland U16 – 1:3. Poland Goals: Olaf Zachariasz, Wiktor Zając, & Jacek Juchniewicz

Final Thoughts

At Polish Puck, we don’t start covering players until they turn 16. The Riga Cup has become the first time we look at many players regarding their future and potential for the U18 squad. The defense and offense did much of the heavy lifting for Poland regarding puck control, as the U16 squad often limited their opponents to under ten shots a game. Still, Poland did so well at this tournament, partly thanks to their trio of goalies. Juliusz Cegliński, who plays in the Czech junior system, took home the honor of being the best goalie in the tournament. In three games, he finished with a .938 save percentage and one shutout. Kacper Michalski had a great final game against Top Speed with a ten-save shutout. Bartosz Brynczka finished with one shutout in his two appearances.

The offense saw a lot of great performances from the defense. Wojciech Wilczok scored three goals and collected some assists as while. Patryk Zubek also had a strong tournament piling up assists and flashing solid defensive skills. Seven of the goals in the tournament were scored by Polish defensemen, a possible good sign with the country needing some firepower from the point. Among forwards, Olaf Zachariasz, Mateusz Majkowski, and Mikołaj Osiadły stood out in driving plays and producing.

It is good to see Poland succeeding at this level and another sign of the growing sport in the country. While there is nothing to immediately be excited about for the national team. We see Poland will continue to have some strong prospects in stronger junior leagues abroad, while others will be stepping into playing full-time MHL hockey next year. It is a good sign for the Poland U18 squad, as they will have a few appointments from this cup-winning roster.

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