Photo: Michał Chwieduk / Fokusmedia

At number two, we have a player that breaks my statistics. She is a prodigy and the future of Polish hockey.

Players had to be under the age of 20 and at least 13 years old on June 1st, 2023. 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 three games to be considered. While most of the ranking is my opinion, numerous Polish hockey people contributed their thoughts on players. 103 players were considered for the list and reviewed. Fifty players received a ranking.

2 – Malgorzata Zakrzewska (F), 14, Naprzod Janow, (NR)

I want to start this by explaining a part of the rankings. I have a stat called relative production score. This is a stat I made that combines factors like age, position, team, size, league, and, of course, that player’s statistics during the year. This scale is beneficial as you usually quickly get a solid list of who was the best in the TLHK for a season. Most players score below 10, while the elite can get into the 10s and 20s. There is no limit to what a player can score on this factor of my evaluation, but the top score is usually in the 20s. No player has scored higher than 30. Until this year, when in her rookie year, Zakrzewska posted a 58.08, the highest I have ever seen. 

Zakrzewska is a hockey prodigy for Poland and has been called the next Mariusz Czerkawski. She is a rare prospect that the entire hockey world will soon know, not just those inside Poland. This past season in the TLHK, she led the league in regular season scoring during her age 12 season. Her 28 goals and 12 assists for 40 points were seven more than any other Polish skater. That includes the greatest player of all time in Polish hockey, Karolina Pozniewska. She also finished second in overall scoring and lost the top spot by three points. Which is insane, given she only appeared in a single playoff game and posted three points in it. For a player so young with so little experience to instantly come in and dominate is insane. A reminder: This player is not even eligible to compete for Poland U18 until the 2025 event. She is already the best player in senior leagues, and she can’t represent the U18 squad because she is too young. 

She also joined the Zietara Polish Eagles to play at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. There, she played with boys her age and recorded two assists in four games, not looking out of place. The tournament has seen over 1,200 NHL players participate and now the future of Polish hockey. The offensive skills are there and only getting better; she is a good skater, has a good shot, and has the offensive creativity that makes her a next-level player. For 2024, she is continuing to destroy her competition in Poland. With strong performances at the senior level in the TLHK, with Silesian Metropolis in the EWHL, and with Naprzod Janow U16 in the men’s U16 league. All these games are only going to aid her experience so much more. My thoughts are with the opposing U18 squads that will have to face her in 2025.

Next Part: Player 1

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