The first month of Tauron Hokej Liga (THL) action is in the books. It is a new time for the league. There is now a title sponsor, and every team has a highly competitive roster on paper. This year, we will check in with the THL monthly. This includes power rankings, top players, and the biggest stories. So first, let’s get into the standings.

THL Standings

Team	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	PTS	Goal Differential
GKS Katowice	8	5	0	3	0	21	14
KH Torun	7	5	2	0	0	15	13
Unia Oswiecim	7	5	2	0	0	15	7
GKS Tychy	7	3	2	1	1	12	4
JKH GKS Jastrzebie	8	2	3	1	2	10	-3
Zaglebie Sosnowiec	7	2	4	1	0	8	-6
Podhale Nowy Targ	8	2	4	0	2	8	-7
Cracovia Krakow	7	2	4	0	1	7	-7
STS Sanok	7	1	6	0	0	3	-15

THL Power Rankings

1. GKS Katowice – The defending back-to-back champions are on top. They are undefeated this season and have dispatched their opponents with ease. Four players already have eight points, and John Murray has been impossible to beat at the start of the year.
2. Unia Oswiecim – Oswiecim has been great to start the year, even though some big names may be slumping. Finnish forward Erik Ahopelto is off to a great start with 9 points and tied for thing in scoring.
3. KH Torun – Torun may actually deserve the second spot after a huge first month. They get knocked for now due to one win being a forfeit by Cracovia due to their rink issues. Nikolai Syty is currently the hottest playmaker in Poland with nine assists. His eleven points lead all scorers.
4. GKS Tychy – Still a strong team, but this start has been lackluster and surely disappointing for the team. They are sixth in goals for this season despite Alan Łyszczarczyk having eight helpers.
5. JKH GKS Jastrzebie – Jastrzebie has also struggled to find the net this year and sit seventh in goals for. They’re the most middle of the pack team in Poland this season. Maciej Miarka is really starting to emerge as a starting goalie and has a .931 SV% in four games.
6. Cracovia Krakow – My biggest move from the standings. It’s not over yet in Cracovia. They have faced a tough start but have a win against Oswiecim and took Jastrzebie to overtime to end the month. Adam Raska and Martin Latal need someone to step up and help on offense.
7. Zaglebie Sosnowiec – This team is your wildcard team of the year. They’re fun and score in bunches but also allow a lot. Patrik Spesny has not performed up to expectations with a .904 SV%, but has faced the most shots in the league.
8. Podhale Nowy Targ – This is just a pure chaos team. Fourth in goals scored and then dead last in goals allowed. Wronka and the offense will put on a show in the opponent zone, but they’re drowning in their own. This amount of scoring would be illegal at the University of Iowa.
9. STS Sanok – The Sanok fans who were in my mentions after I predicted the team to finish last have been quiet. The offense is just nonexistent right now, while the dam has broken defensively a few times. I don’t expect the team to be like this all year, but things must change soon.

THL Players of the Month

September MVP – Nikolai Syty (KH Torun). Syty takes the first MVP. He has been crucial in the hot start for Torun. His nine assists alone would tie him for third in THL scoring.

Forward – Patryk Krezolek (Zaglebie Sosnowiec). Krezolek is reminding everyone he is a top-line forward. His six goals lead all skaters this year.

Defenseman – Santeri Koponen (GKS Katowice). I’m a sucker for an offensive defenseman, and Koponen already has five goals on the year. This could go to him or his partner, Aleksi Varttinen.

Goalie – John Murray (GKS Katowice). If you put the term “brick wall” into Google Translate, it will say in Polish it’s John Murray. He has the second most shots faced and a .928 SV%. You can’t get better than that.

U23 Player – Maciej Miarka (JKH GKS Jastrzebie). It has been a long time since we had a Poland-born goalie lead a team. Miarka might be the next great Polish goalie. He has a .931 SV% through four games.

September’s Top Stories

Sep 8th. Let’s start in Cracovia, where the team came into the year facing many questions after some budget cuts. This may be a bad omen for the year, but the team had to cancel their season opener on September eighth after a Torun player broke the plexiglass behind the net in warm-ups. What usually is an easy fix turned into an impossible one. The replacement plane and fix were not up to code. The red and white had to take a five-to-nothing forfeit. This would not be the only arena problem, as they had a few painting dimension issues that had to be corrected a few times before the rink was approved.

Sep 13th. Just after the season kicked off, Mateusz Rompkowski announced his retirement. The veteran Polish defender had played last year with GKS Katowice. He represented Poland at ten World Championships, being named Poland’s best player at the 2015 event. He is a four-time PHL champion and two-time Polish Cup winner. In total, he played in 850 PHL games, recording 250 points.

Sep 15th. After only three games, Podhale Nowy Targ fired head coach Aleksandrs Beļavskis. With big signings and expectations, the club quickly moved but has yet to find a replacement. Club legend Rafał Sroka has taken over the duties as the acting head coach after serving as an assistant. Beļavskis had joined Podhale during the 2023 season. This was the Latvian coach’s second stint with the club.

Sep 30th. Janusz Filipiak, the founder, president, and CEO of Comarch SA, was hospitalized. The 71-year-old suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated by paramedics. He remains in the hospital in serious condition. Filipiak became president of the Cracovia club in 2004. The team has won seven PHL championships under his leadership.

Oct 1. The struggle continues for Sanok as during their October 1st match, they lost Aku Alho. Alho suffered a fractured femur after a collision with Adrian Prusak. It is believed the Finnish defenseman is now out for the year. The club had high hopes for the 26-year-old defender, and he was serving as an assistant captain for the club.

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