In some late-night Easter Sunday hockey news, Polish forward Jakub Lewandowski entered the NCAA transfer portal, per Jared Rubado, the Bemidji Pioneer’s college hockey writer. This doesn’t come as a surprise, given how sparingly Lewandowski played this past season. He only appeared in nine games in his junior season, scoring once and assisting on another. Lewandowski will be looking for a new home for likely his final and senior year of NCAA hockey.

There were expectations Lewandowski could slot into the top six at Bemidji for the 2024 season. An early-season injury would see him miss most of the beginning of the year. He would return on December 15th, playing five games between December and January. After the injury, he could never find a permanent spot in the lineup, and the club turned to younger players. In his three years at Bemidji State, he recorded 13 points (7G-6A-13PTS) in 61 games. In all three years with the college, he made the CCHA All-Academic Team. He was an AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar in 2023 and a CCHA Scholar-Athlete in 2024.

The 22-year-old was once the top Polish prospect and received some NHL draft consideration early in 2020. Before committing to Bemidji State, he could only play in five Czech junior games during the covid-shorten 2021 season. He played 18 games in his freshman year, with mostly lower minutes, before exiting the lineup. His sophomore year showed more promise, playing in 34 games and posting seven points. He is still young, only turning 23 in October, and has good size at 6’3. The lack of consistent playing time due to injury, coaching decisions, and other world factors has hurt his development.

Still, seven points during his sophomore year were the most recorded by a Polish player in a single NCAA season, while his 13 career points are the most by a Polish player. I still believe Lewandowski will no doubt be a great player for Poland in the future. On a final note, I am sad that we will not see two Polish players compete for the same school, as Julia Zielinska will be joining Bemidji State next season.

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