In total, 28 players have skated on both NHL and PHL ice. Today we are finishing our list, where we looked at their careers and how they went from the bright lights of the NHL to bus rides in Poland. This part looks at players who played in Poland after the 2020 season. Usually, there were only one or two former NHL players in Poland, with their debuts spaced out by a few years. That changed in 2020, with five former NHL players all debuting at some point in the 2020-21 season. This came due to two big reasons. First, many teams and leagues were shut down at the time due to Covid-19. The second was some higher profile coaches with connections, like former San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Kevin Constantine. The combination of those two factors led to some of the most interesting PHL transfers ever.
Paul Szczechura
We start this list with a well-known last name to Polish fans. Paul Szczechura stayed in his native Brantford, Ontario, during his junior career. After a couple seasons in Junior B, he would make an NCAA commitment to Western Michigan University. He earned an A on his jersey for his final two years and posted 45 points during his last year at Western Michigan. He would sign with the Iowa Wild of the AHL as an undrafted free agent. Despite a hot start, he didn’t make a significant impact in parts of two seasons. He would find himself traded to the Norfolk Admirals halfway through 2008. The change of scenery did wonders, as he posted 26 points in 24 games. This hot performance would earn him his first NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would debut for the Lightning in December 2019 and post nine points in 31 games during his rookie year. He would spend the next few years bouncing between the NHL and minors with the Lightning and Buffalo Sabres. In total, he would record 20 points in 92 NHL games.
For the 2013 season, Szczechura jumped to Europe and the KHL. He began his KHL career with HC Lev Praha in Czechia but was released after only three games. The veteran forward would transfer to Latvian club Dinamo Riga and truly kick off a long KHL career. He would call the league home from 2013 to 2020. In total, playing in 431 games with five clubs, including an all-star appearance in 2018. After not signing anywhere to begin the 2021 campaign, Paul would join his younger brother Alex in Poland with GKS Tychy. He would only get in five regular season games, but his impact was felt with seven points. He then led the PHL playoffs in points with 15 helping GKS Tychy to a bronze medal. Szczechura would retire from professional hockey at 35 after his short stint in Poland.
Tomas Kubalik
For a long time, Tomas Kubalik was considered a top prospect in Czechia. He started representing the national team very early on at U16 events. He quickly worked his way up the HC Plzeň system and made many senior appearances at just 16 years old. In 2008, he led the IIHF Division 1 Group A U18 World Championships, hosted by Poland, with six goals. The Columbus Blue Jackets liked what they saw and selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL draft. He would sign his entry-level deal with Columbus following the 2010 season and started in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons. Over the next two seasons, he would make sporadic appearances for the Blue Jackets, recording three points in 12 games. He would not get any NHL action in the 2013 season and found himself traded at the deadline to the Winnipeg Jets organization for Spencer Machacek. Kubalik didn’t appear for the Jets and would not be re-signed.
Kulabik would return to Czechia with the country’s KHL squad HC Lev Praha. This would begin a journeyman European career that saw him play with eight teams in four leagues from 2014 to 2021. The veteran forward started the 2021 season in the Tipsort Extraliga with HC Vítkovice but would be left looking for a new club after nine games. Finally, in January of that year, he found a new home in Poland with GKS Katowice. The club hoped he would provide a spark late in the year, and he started strong with five points in six regular season games. He would struggle in the playoffs with only two points in ten matches. Kubalik would not return to Poland for another season and has since played in the lower levels of France and Germany. His brother currently plays for the Ottawa Senators.
Gilbert Brulé
Brulé is probably one of the most high-profile players to appear in Poland. A standout in the Western Hockey League due to his goal-scoring ability and physical play. He was considered a top prospect for the 2005 NHL draft, ranked second behind Sidney Crosby. The Columbus Blue Jackets took him 6th overall. He is the highest-drafted player to appear in Poland. Brulé would crack the Jackets’ lineup to begin the 2006 NHL season and record four points in seven games before being returned to the Vancouver Giants in the WHL. He would return to the Jackets lineup in 2007 but didn’t produce much offensively in his rookie year. During the 2008 offseason, Columbus would trade the former top pick to Edmonton for fellow gritty forward Raffi Torres. The Edmonton native would not crack the team’s lineup out of training camp and spend most of the year in the AHL. Brulé would spend the next two years with the Oilers, recording a career-high of 37 points in the 2010 season. He was back in the minors for the 2012 season until being claimed on waivers by the then-Phoenix Coyotes. He remained with Coyotes to finish the year but would not be re-signed. After only a handful of games in Switzerland in 2013, Brulé joined the Coyotes on a professional tryout in 2014. He eventually signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Yotes. After spending time with Arizona and their AHL affiliate, he would announce his retirement in the middle of the season. He would end his NHL career with 98 points in 311 NHL games.
Brulé would come out of retirement in the same offseason with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the KHL. He would succeed more with his KHL career and spend the next seven years in the league. Although he bounced around teams, he would record 159 points in 278 KHL games. His strong performance earned him a spot on Canada’s Olympic roster for the 2018 Winter Games. At the event, he helped Canada to a bronze medal finish with three points in five games. Brulé was in the second year of a deal with Chinese KHL club Kunlun Red Star during the 2021 season but did not appear for the club. In January 2021, he would be one of the big-name additions to Unia Oswiecim by new head coach Kevin Constantine. His PHL career would not be the most exciting, with only two goals in his first seven games, but he did finish strong with five points in six playoff games. Brulé would retire for a second time after his stint in Poland.
Victor Bartley
Bartley went undrafted, played in the ECHL, and headed to Europe before making his NHL debut. The defenseman led the Kamloops Blazers and even made Canada U18 for the 2006 IIHF U18 World Championships. He would join the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL in the 2010 offseason but mainly play with their ECHL affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, earning all-star honors. A lack of success in the AHL, saw Bartley sign in Sweden with Rögle BK of the Swedish second league. He would have a breakout year in Sweden with 43 points in 62 games. This earned him a two-year NHL deal with the Nashville Predators. He would start with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, and earn all-star honors in 2013. He made his NHL debut in March of that season and played 24 games for the Predators after the NHL lockout had ended. He would stay a part of the Nashville lineup for the next two years. During the 2016 season, he returned to the minors. He would later be a part of the controversial John Scott trade. Bartley would be sent to Montreal as the NHL attempted to keep fan vote winner John Scott out of the NHL all-star game. Bartley would not be an NHL regular in Montreal and split his time between the NHL and AHL. He signed a one-year deal with Minnesota during the 2017 offseason but suffered an injury that caused him to miss the entire season during an exhibition game. This would end his NHL career with 23 points in 125 NHL games across four seasons.
Bartley would return to Europe for the 2018 campaign with Swedish club Örebro HK. He then signed a multiple-year deal with Chinese KHL club Kunlun Red Star and played with the team from 2019 to 2020. A free agent in 2021, he would be recruited to Poland by joining another former NHL player Gilbert Brulé on Unia Oswiecim. The Ottawa native made a quick impact with six assists in nine games while racking up 47 penalty minutes. He would return to Canada before the playoffs due to family issues and never returned to Poland. Bartley once again suited up for Kunlun Red Star in 2022 and spent 2023 back in the ECHL with another former team of his, the Utah Grizzlies.
Jeremy Welsh
The last of the players to join in the Covid season. Welsh has a story like many others on this list in battling to earn an NHL shot. A top player in Canada’s OJHL, he was captain of the Oakville Blades. He made an NCAA commitment to Union College and spent the next three years in New York. After a 44-point junior season in 2012, the Carolina Hurricanes would sign him to an entry-league deal as an undrafted free agent. He would make his NHL debut immediately, playing in one game to finish the year. He mainly played in the minors during the 2013 season but got in five more games with the Canes, even recording his first assist. Right before the start of the 2014 season, he would find himself traded, with Zac Dalpe, for Kellan Tochkin and a 2014 fourth-round pick. He would play in 19 games with the Canucks and netted his first NHL goal. He left the Canucks in the offseason to join the St. Louis Blues organization, where he primarily played with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. Following two years in the Blues’ system, he looked to Europe. Welsh ended his NHL career with two points in 27 games.
Welsh would sign in the top German league, the DEL, with the Fischtown Pinguins. He would spend the next four years in the league with four different clubs. He stayed as mostly a bottom-six grinder, good for 10 to 20 points a season. Much like every other player on our list so far, the physical winger didn’t know where to start the 2020 season. He found himself with Cracovia starting in January. He was the former NHLer to make the most impact with 17 points in 29 games, helping Cracovia win a silver medal. Despite the impact, it would be one and one in Poland. He has since played for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL for the past two seasons.
Vojtech Polak
The appropriately named Polak had an impressive career in Europe. Before that time, he had a short stint in North America. The Czech forward captained his home country’s squad at the 2003 IIHF U18 World Championships. He would be drafted by Dallas Stars in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft with the 36th pick. Polak split the next few years between teams in Czechia before being brought over to the Stars organization on a three-entry deal. He was mainly in the AHL with Iowa Stars but played in five NHL games between the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He would return to Europe towards the end of the 2008 campaign.
Polak’s Europe career would see him play all over the top leagues of the continent. It started with returning to where he played junior hockey with HC Karlovy Vary to finish the 2008 season. He played the next three years with HC Oceláři Třinec, winning the 2011 Extraliga championship. He then started to swap squads a bit more, playing in the National League, KHL, and Liiga, along with a few more appearances in the Extraliga from 2012 to 2021. Now in his age 37 season, he took to the lower levels of Europe, playing in England and Romania for 2022. His impressive resume made him a major signing for Cracovia Krakow in Poland. Polak would be an assistant captain and live up to the hype. He finished seventh on the team in points with 32 despite playing just 33 games. In the Champions Hockey League, he scored twice for Cracovia in five appearances. The veteran forward has yet to sign anywhere for the 2024 season.
Ty Wishart
It was easy to see why Wishart became a top pick in the mid-2000s. The 6’4 defenseman had strong physical and high character traits. He captained Canada U18 at the 2006 IIHF U18 World Championships. The San Jose Sharks would draft him 16th overall that offseason in the NHL draft. Wishart would continue his junior career in the WHL but find himself a part of trades there and in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Wishart, Matt Carle, a 2009 first-round pick (Kyle Palmieri), and a 2010 fourth-round pick (James Mullin) from the San Jose Sharks for veterans Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. Wishart would sign his entry league deal with the Lightning and turn professional in 2009. He played for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, but did appear in five games with the Bolts in 2009. On New Year’s Day in 2011, Wishart once again was traded as he was shipped to the New York Islanders for goaltender Dwayne Roloson. He would end up playing most of the year with the Islanders appearing in 20 NHL games. That would be pretty much the last NHL action of his career, and he would spend the next two years in the minors with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. A former top-20 pick, he would finish his NHL career with six points in 26 games.
Wishart would make the move to Europe in 2014 and start a journeyman career. Over the next eight years, he would appear for eight different teams in eight different leagues with ten different transfers. He was mainly in the mid-tier of European leagues like the DEL, Tipsport Extraliga, and Tipos Extraliga. In 2023, he found a home in Poland with Unia Oswiecim. This would be very short-lived as despite four assists in nine games, he and Oswiecim parted ways. He would return to the DEL2 to finish the season. He currently plays hockey and works behind the scenes in Melbourne, Australia.
Roman Graborenko
Graborenko made his own unqiue path to the NHL. The big Belarusian defender found himself in the lower levels of Russian junior hockey. He jumped to the United States to play for the Philadelphia Revolution in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. After a strong debut in North America, he would be selected in the CHL import draft by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL. Following two seasons in Canada’s top junior league, Graborenko signed an AHL deal with the Albany Devils. He worked his way up the ladder once again, earning an NHL deal with the New Jersey Devils during the 2013 offseason. He would spend the next three years with the Albany staying a consistent presence on their blueline. He played his lone NHL appearance on April 9th, 2015, against Tampa Bay. He would go unsigned in the 2016 offseason but did have an unsuccessful tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Graborenko returned home late into the 2017 season, signing with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. He would bounce around the KHL and Tipsport Extraliga the next few seasons, along with a short stop in Kazakhstan. In 2023, now 30 years old, he earned a tryout with Polish club Unia Oswiecim and posted a goal and two assists in nine games. He would not stick with Oswiecim but stayed in Poland singing with Cracovia Krakow. He finished the year with Cracovia recording two goals and seven assists in 27 games. Despite the strong year, he currently remains a free agent.
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