Last year, Poland hockey had its most joyous moment of the century as they earned promotion to the Elite division for the first time in 23 years. In all of the celebration, the national team also faced immediate questions. The biggest was the defense. At the tournament, five of Poland’s eight defensemen were 34 years old or older. Only two players were under 30, with Arkadiusz Kostek (29) and Oskar Jaskiewicz (27). There will soon be an overhaul of the Polish defense just due to the age of the players.

With Poland making a comeback to the Elite, can the Polish defense do the same? When Marcin Kolusz was drafted all the way back in 2003. He was Poland’s prized forward prospect. While he might not have reached the NHL dreams that he and fans once had for his career, he did become a legend in Polish hockey. One of the best forwards of his generation, he was a staple of the national team. Eventually, he started to drop off and calls for his roster spot were coming. He then made a move from forward to defenseman that would give his career a new life. As one of the country’s leading defenders, he helped Poland return to form. He also achieved a career milestone by signing in Finland’s top league, the Liiga. Kolusz’s career resurgence gave Poland the strong two-way defender they needed at the perfect time. Now, at 39, Poland needs to fill his spot again soon. That solution could come from anywhere, as seen in Kolusz’s own comeback story.

Players Aged 35 and Over

Marcin Kolusz	Maciej Kruczek
Patryk Wajda	Michał Kotlorz

Kolusz, Kruczek, and Wajda have been staples of the Polish national team over their entire careers. Without much pressure coming from younger players, they should be able to ride out their national team careers until they choose to retire or a significant play drop occurs. These three, being over 35 years old, are why Poland needs to start paying attention to its defensive depth. Their exit from the squad could happen at any moment. The only other player that is active in the THL in the same age range is Sosnowiec captain Michał Kotlorz. He has not represented the national team since 2018.

Players Aged 30-34

Bartosz Ciura	Kamil Gorny	Mateusz Bryk
Pawel Dronia	Jakub Wanacki	Bartłomiej Pociecha
Robert Mrugała	Thomas Ziolkowski	Jakub Gimiński

It is a good thing Poland could rely on the players over 35 for so long. Not many defenders in Poland have continued playing at a high level after the age of 30. Ciura, Gorny, and Wanacki are veterans of the fall and rise of the national team. Dronia made his very welcomed return to the squad last year after a three-year absence. The three-time DEL2 champion is likely the Polish defender with the best club resume of the century. Bryk, once one of the stars of the red and white’s defense, has not played for the national team since the 2022 season. Bartłomiej Pociecha is the only player who has not represented Poland in a while that I am surprised with. The 31-year-old defender has remained a strong player for GKS Tychy, posting an average of 22 points a year in the THL.

Players Aged 25-29

Marcin Horzelski	Yevgeni Kamenev	Adrian Jaworski
Oskar Jaskiewicz	Arkadiusz Kostek	Oskar Krawczyk
Mateusz Zielinski	Olaf Bizacki	Damian Tomasik
Dawid Musioł	Damian Szurowski	Tomasz Skokan

Poland loss a generation of defenders from this group. Many of the defensemen who played Poland with U20 or U18 decided not to pursue a senior career. Thus, Poland only has 12 defenders in the “prime” years of their career, and only 10 of them are in the THL. Jaskiewicz and Kostek both are likely cemented as members of the national squad. Jaskiewicz is Poland’s best defender in this group, in my opinion. Horzelski and Zielinksi both had solid performances at the Olympic qualifiers, especially on the offensive side. They’re likely the next in line for a regular spot with whoever retires next. Kamanev and Bizacki are likely next after them; they just need to take a step to elevate their game to IIHF appearances. I am always surprised Tomasik hasn’t received more chances with Poland, and he has not represented the country since 2021.

Players Aged 20-24

Karol Bilas	Szymon Bieniek	Jakub Najsarek
Michal Narog	Miłosz Noworyta	Michał Jaracz
Bartosz Florczak	Dominik Szlembarski	Michał Proczek
Kacper Macias	Oskar Bajwenko

This is another big part of the concern of what is to come. There are only eleven defenders in the THL that played this year within the 20 to 24 age range. Once the veterans start to move on, there are not a lot of players able to take their spots. I am a huge fan of Karol Bilas. I think he can potentially be a top-two defender for the country. Unfornately, the Sanok star has suffered a shoulder injury ending his year early, he had already missed most of the year with a previous shoulder injury. Florczak, Macias, and Narog are all intriguing players who should be joining the senior squad more often in the next few years. Kacper Macias has really shown a lot with GKS Katowice this year, and I am shocked he has not been given a look by the senior squad yet.

Players Under 20

Kacper Niemczyk	Blazej Chodor	Damian Kapa	Tomasz Marzec
Oliwier Kurnicki	Kacper Prokopiak	Kacper Lukawski	Maksym Makuch
Olaf Wlodara	Jakub Onak	Dawid Tynka	Witold Staniszkis
Jakub Michalski	Karol Sobecki	Eryk Schafer	Kacper Rocki
Hubert Szarzynski	Jan Stępień	Jakub Wilk	Patryk Hanzel

This isn’t a list of every U20 defender for Poland. This is our current crop of active U18 and U20 players, mostly those who have played for Team Poland at a junior event or currently play in a strong league abroad. Of this group, I think there are a few players that project really well. I would have high hopes for Chodor, Kurnicki, Onak, Propkopiak, Rocki, Schafer, Sobecki, and Szarzynski. Chodor really brings a lot of great physical tools and fits a North American style of play well. Rocki is taking a very interesting development path and played last year in Sweden’s Division 2 (4th level senior) as an 18-year-old. Hubert Szarzynski has been able to play in the top level of Swedish junior hockey. There are many options here, but this group took a major hit when Patryk Zubek chose to try to represent Slovakia. Still, most of these players likely won’t be ready to assume senior national team duties for a while. We will have to track and monitor their performance and hope some raise their stock significantly.

Summary

When I started this project, I felt it was done as an exercise to take stock. When I did this for goalies, it helped visualize Poland’s goaltending situation and see how bright the future could be. With the defense, it raises an alarm. Poland is heading into the top division of hockey with only 23 defenders above the age of 25 playing at a level of the THL or stronger. Poland will take eight defenders to the Worlds; that is more than one-third of their available defensive options. There are players I like among the younger group coming, but there are so few high-level prospects. If you look five or ten years into the future, I have concerns about Poland having enough defenders to play at a level that will keep them at the top of the hockey world.

It almost feels like a situation where Poland will need to look at the import possibilities like they have done with goaltending. To my knowledge, there isn’t a player that is close to that in terms of obtaining Polish citizenship. Peter Bezuška has spent the last nine years in Oswiecim, formally representing Slovakia at the U20 and U18 levels. Aleš Ježek is in year six after playing for various THL clubs and formally represented Czechia at the U18s. Both players would require four years of playing in Poland to represent the country, which both clear. Other options that could represent Poland since they have completed two years in the THL while also not previously representing another country, include Jakub Saur, Kalle Valtola, Olli Kaskinen, and Olli-Petteri Viinikainen.

The import pool doesn’t seem to have any immediate option, which only adds to the depth issues. A rough injury stretch could hurt this team so much. I have a lot of concerns about the future of the national team now at defense. There are some interesting prospects, but the depth isn’t there, and it’s unlikely many will take a large jump into that top-level player or prospect that Poland currently needs. I would honestly rate Poland’s situation as desperate. There are less than 20 defenders under the age of 30 playing full-time senior hockey in Poland at the THL level. Once the core declines or retires, Poland may potentially be in a spot that sees them slide back down division one.

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